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“‘[Colin Powell] was a classic RINO, if even that, always being the first to attack other Republicans. He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!’”
That’s former President Donald Trump, who seemed to be slightly bitter at former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who died on Monday of complications from COVID-19.
Trump, who delivered the remarks via email, diverged from the many notable politicians, who praised the former military leader. Here are the former president’s remarks in full:
| – October 19, 2021 – |
| Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America |
| Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media. Hope that happens to me someday. He was a classic RINO, if even that, always being the first to attack other Republicans. He made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace! |
Trump’s antipathy may stem from the 2016 election, when Powell, a longtime Republican, publicly announced that he would be voting for Democrat Hillary Clinton, and not Trump, going on to endorse Joe Biden in 2020. Just before his death, Powell blamed Trump for the Jan. 6 events at the Capitol, telling Bob Woodward, “He was going in there to overturn the government.”
He added, according to Woodward: “Trump refuses to acknowledge that he wasn’t re-elected. He has people who go along with him on that.”
Trump’s statement was met online with a mix between anger and sarcasm:
Colin Powell joins the late Sen. John McCain as noteworthy Republicans who have been the subject of posthumous attacks from Trump.
From the archives (May 2019): Outrage over report that White House ordered USS John McCain out of Trump’s sight
