Powell: Trump ‘a national disgrace’
In leaked emails, former U.S. secretary of state also slams Clinton
WASHINGTON — In a trove of newly leaked emails, former Secretary of State Colin Powell calls Donald Trump “a national disgrace” and suggests his own Republican Party is “crashing and burning.”
Powell also laments Hillary Clinton’s attempt to equate her use of private email at the State Department with his.
The emails, posted on the website DCLeaks.com and first reported by Buzzfeed News, offer insight into the unvarnished opinions of the respected retired Army general who was secretary of state under U.S. president George W. Bush. The messages run from March 2015 through last month.
Powell, 79, did not respond Wednesday to a phone message or email seeking comment. He earlier told BuzzFeed that he does not deny the emails’ authenticity.
In the emails, Powell said he stayed relatively quiet during the rise of Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. “To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him,” Powell said.
To a former aide he writes, “No need to debate it with you now, but Trump is a national disgrace and an international pariah.”
He also criticized Trump for backing the false claim that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
“All his lies and nonsense just pile up,” Powell wrote. “I just go back to the unforgivable one. Trying to destroy the president elected by the American people with his fictitious investigation into this source of birth. Absolutely disgraceful.”
Powell, a Republican, also suggests frustration with the state of the nation’s politics.
“We all need to start voting for America and not our parties,” Powell writes. “Trump is taking on water. He doesn’t have a GOP philosophy or even a Conservative philosophy. We need a revolution and it will begin with the GOP crashing and burning up its current form.”
DCLeaks.com has been alleged to be an outlet for hackers tied to the Russian intelligence groups. The website, which says it intends to expose the misuse of political power, has previously released emails from other Washington political figures.
The release of Powell’s emails is the latest in a string of leaks that appear intended to influence the 2016 presidential election. The FBI is investigating how thousands of Democratic National Committee emails were hacked and released, an embarrassing breach that Clinton’s campaign maintains was committed by Russia to benefit Trump.
Powell’s leaked messages include his thoughts on Clinton’s lingering email woes. He criticized Clinton aides for tying him into the controversy over the Democratic nominee’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.
Powell has acknowledged using a private email account with both senior U.S. officials and for backchannel communications with foreign dignitaries.
Clinton used a private email server located in the basement of her New York home.
Powell wrote that he had told Clinton’s “minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try.” In another spot, he declared of Clinton that “Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris.”
Meanwhile, hoping to put the issue of her health behind her as she gets ready to return to the campaign trail, Clinton on Wednesday released an updated review of her physical fitness and details about a recent bout of pneumonia.
“She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest,” said her doctor, Lisa Bardack, in a letter released by her campaign. “She continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States.”
The details made public by the Democratic presidential nominee included a description of the pneumonia diagnosis she received last week.
Her illness became public after she left Sunday’s 9-11 memorial service in New York early and was seen on video staggering while getting into a van.
The health episode fueled longsimmering conservative conspiracy theories about Clinton’s health and provided a fresh line of attack for rival Donald Trump, who has frequently questioned whether Clinton has the stamina to serve as commander in chief.
Trump, meanwhile, handed over a one-page summary of a recent physical exam to the celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz while recording an episode of Oz’s talk show.
But voters will have to wait another day for details: the show does not air until today.