Colin Powell – the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, secretary of state, and national security adviser – died on Monday. He was 84.
Every living American president released a statement honoring Powell…except for one.
President Joe Biden called Powell “a dear friend and a patriot of unmatched honor and dignity.” Biden added, “Over our many years working together – even in disagreement – Colin was always someone who gave you his best and treated you with respect.”
Former president Barack Obama said Powell was “an example of what America – and Americans – can and should be if we wish to remain the last, best hope of earth.”
Former president Bill Clinton described Powell as a “courageous solider, a skilled commander, a dedicated diplomat and a good and decent man.”
George W. Bush, who as president named Powell the nation’s first Black Secretary of State, said he was a “a great public servant” who “was highly respected at home and abroad.”
And former president Jimmy Carter said Powell’s “courage and integrity will be an inspiration for generations to come.”
Then there was Donald Trump.
On Tuesday morning, Trump released the following statement:
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!
Powell was a war hero in Vietnam, helping to evacuate a downed a helicopter at great personal risk. And his storied career is of substantial importance to Black Americans, who view him as a cultural icon who broke down barriers.
That doesn’t mean Powell is beyond criticism. In particular, his advocacy of the Iraq War helped push America into a deadly conflict without clear aims.
But Trump’s statement seems animated by personal grievances.
Powell endorsed both of Trump’s presidential opponents – Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. He said Trump’s politics were “dangerous for our democracy” and said Trump had “drifted away” from the Constitution.
CNN’s Chris Cillizza writes, “No one should be surprised by this latest degradation of what it means to be a president by Trump. He spent four years in office defining the job downward. That some people will applaud Trump’s trolling of a dead man is, perhaps, his most toxic legacy.”
