Some leaked emails from Colin Powell air out his true feelings on Republican nominee Donald Trump, and the results aren’t pretty. The former Secretary of State called out Trump as “a national disgrace” and slammed the GOP nominee as an “international pariah,” as reported by BuzzFeed News.
The June 2016 email sent to former Powell aide and current journalist Emily Miller was obtained by DCLeaks.com, which BuzzFeed News reports could have ties to Russian intelligence agencies. It’s long been thought by U.S. officials Russia was behind the Democratic National Committee email hack, which some believe is being used to sway the election. So this latest revelation doesn’t come as a major surprise.
In one email, Powell didn’t hold back with his assessment that Trump is damaging his campaign from the inside, stating, “[Trump] is in the process of destroying himself, no need for Dems to attack him.” That strategy may work, but Trump’s gaffes are currently being spun by a new campaign manager, and the Democrats are too busy dealing with their own issues to tackle Trump. These new wrinkles may change everything, but Powell’s thoughts do reflect on how some Republicans feel, but won’t say out loud.
BuzzFeed News also reports how Powell weighed in on the birther movement, which Trump has stepped away from the past few weeks. At one time, Trump was the poster child for questioning President Obama’s U.S. citizenship authenticity, but Powell believed it was just a racist movement:
“Yup, the whole birther movement was racist. That’s what the 99% believe. When Trump couldn’t keep that up, he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim.”
Powell’s critiques were not exclusive to Trump, as he reportedly believed this type of narrow-minded thinking had been bubbling for some time in his party, stating, “There is a level of intolerance in parts of the Republican Party.” And Powell even called out the media for feeding into the Trump machine, telling CNN’s Fareed Zakaria how talking about him only “emboldens him:”
“You guys are playing his game, you are his oxygen. He outraged us again today with his comments on Paris no-go for police districts. I will watch and pick the timing, not respond to the latest outrage.”
Powell was pretty severe and accurate in his critiques, particularly in his comment to Zakaria. Trump holds many rallies per week and takes pride in news organizations covering every single word he says. It appears to be his fuel and Powell’s email comments may help continue this trend. For his part, Powell told BuzzFeed News he is declining comment on the emails.
(Via BuzzFeed News)
