A week after United States President Donald Trump threatened to use military force versus the demonstrators, Colin Powell and other high ranking retired military figures criticized the president for taking action they say will destroy the relations between the American people and the military.
Powell, who was former President George W. Bush's State Secretary and previously chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, disclosed to CNN's State of the Union that the commander in chief is veering away from the US Constitution and that he's a frequent liar.
Powell, who led the US military in the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq under Bush, said he was "deeply troubled" by the way Trump was going around "insulting everybody," as quoted by The Guardian.
Adding that Trump's insult is dangerous for democracy and the country, Powell stressed that he cannot - in any way - support Trump in his reelection campaign this year. He pointed out that Trump's penchant to insult anybody who speaks against him has always discouraged him.
According to Powell, more people have the same feelings. Asked if he would vote for Biden, Powell said "I'll be voting for him," The Guardian reported.
With his penchant for tweeting, Trump said Powell is a "real stiff very responsible for getting us into the disastrous Middle East Wars, just announced he will be voting for another stiff, Sleepy Joe Biden," as quoted by Austin Horn of NPR.
In an interview on CBS Face the Nation, Condoleezza Rice, Powell's successor as state secretary who also served as national security adviser for Bush, called on the president to speak in the language of empathy. Social media, Rice stated, is not a great place for complicated messages. Rice lauded the demonstrators for taking a stand on the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police.
The comments from Powell add to a growing list of denunciations made during the past few days by former senior officials who have expressed disgust with the president's strongman approach to the demonstrations caused by the murder of Floyd. In contrast, Powell called out Republican lawmakers for mostly keeping mum about Trump's reactions to the ongoing protests.
Meanwhile, Biden welcomed Powell's support, saying the issue is not about just politics. "This is about the future of our country. Grateful for your support, Secretary Powell," Biden said, as quoted by Allan Smith of NBC News.
Meanwhile, echoing the president's former Defense Secretary James Mattis, Powell disclosed that he agreed Trump is the first leader of the nation in his lifetime who's not trying to unite the country.
