Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, seen here in Washington in 2008.
Susan Walsh/AP
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Susan Walsh/AP
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, seen here in Washington in 2008.
Susan Walsh/AP
Colin Powell, who is usually a model of public restraint, apparently was not so much on his emails.
The former secretary of state under George W. Bush had harsh words for both presidential nominees in emails made public that were apparently hacked.
He called GOP nominee Donald Trump a “national disgrace,” and an an “international pariah” with “no sense of shame” leading a “racist” movement, because of Trump’s leading of the “birther” movement and having questioned President Obama’s religion.
He didn’t hold back much for Hillary Clinton, either, saying, “Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris.”
The emails, first posted by DCLeaks.com, a site MSNBC reported has rumored ties to Russian intelligence, and first reported by Buzzfeed News, go into more detail about Powell’s views on the two candidates. Some of the choice excerpts, according to:
On Trump: To call him ‘an idiot just emboldens him’
Per Buzzfeed:
Powell to former aide Emily Miller, a correspondent with the conservative One America News Network, on the birther 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 told Miller, according to Buzzfeed, that Trump “is in the process of destroying himself, no need for Dems to attack him. Paul Ryan is calibrating his position again.”
And:
“As I have said before, ‘What if he was?’ Muslims are born as Americans everyday.”
He lamented the direction of the GOP:
“Or as I said before the 2012 election, ‘There is a level of intolerance in parts of the Republican Party.'”
And he noted in declining news media interviews that he thought Trump was getting too much coverage. As for him going on air to criticize him, he said he would “pick the timing,” and “To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him.”
On Clinton: ‘Dumb;’ Should have handled email server ‘honestly’
Per The Intercept:
Powell said there was a difference between what he was doing with a private email address as opposed to a private server.
Powell to a business partner:
“They are going to d*** up the legitimate and necessary use of emails with friggin record rules. I saw email more like a telephone than a cable machine. As long as the stuff is unclassified. I had a secure State.gov machine. Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris.”
He was critical of how she’s handled her defense:
“Dumb. She should have done a ‘Full Monty’ at the beginning. … I warned her staff three times over the past two years not to try to connect it to me. I am not sure HRC even knew or understood what was going on in the basement.”
He added in another:
“HRC could have killed this two years ago by merely telling everyone honestly what she had done and not tie me to it.”
He said he’d complained to Clinton’s staff on multiple occasions, met with top Clinton adviser Cheryl Mills just last month and said he had to “throw a mini tantrum at a Hampton’s (sic) party to get their attention. She keeps tripping into these ‘character’ minefields.”
In another email, per NBC:
“I have told Hilleary’s [sic] minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try.”
Powell told Buzzfeed: “I have no further comment.” But: “I’m not denying it.”
A Powell aide confirmed the hack to the New York Times and said, “They are his emails.”