Praise for Powell is Effusive, Except, of Course, from Trump

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

American soldier and statesman Colin Powell died yesterday from complications of COVID and cancer.  He was eighty-four.

Powell, a retired Army four-star general, severed two combat tours in Vietnam in the 1960's where he was wounded in action and also received the "Soldier's Medal" for helping to pull soldiers out of a burning helicopter.   Ronald Reagan elevated the soldier, Powell, into the political sphere when he named him as his National Security Adviser.  General Powell later served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and finally, after retiring from the military, George W. Bush named Colin Powell as his Secretary of State.  It was in his role as Bush's Secretary of State where Powell's reputation suffered its first big setback after he gave information to the United Nations regarding Iraq's supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction, information that later proved to be wrong.

Colin Powell was one of only two people to have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom twice, once by George H. W. Bush in 1991 and two years later by Bill Clinton.  

Powell, a self-declared Republican, broke with his party in 2008 and supported Barack Obama for president over fellow veteran John McCain.   He also did not support Donald Trump in either of his presidential runs, and said that he could "no longer be a Republican" after the Trump-inspired attack on the Capitol on January 6th of this year.

Yesterday Colin Powell died - and the praise for the soldier and statesman was quickly forthcoming and it was effusive.  Former President George W. Bush called Powell "a great public servant," while Bill and Hillary Clinton were a bit more unrestrained as they described Colin Powell as "a courageous soldier, a skilled commander, a dedicated diplomat, and a good and decent man."

Former President Barack Obama called Powell "an exemplary soldier and an exemplary patriot," and Joe Biden, the current president, said that Colin Powell was "a dear friend and patriot of unmatched honor and dignity."

And Jimmy Carter, who was president before Colin Powell rose to national prominence, had this to say about the man:

"Rosalynn and I join so many around the world in mourning the loss of General Colin Powell. A true patriot and public servant, we were honored to work beside him to strengthen communities in the United States, help resolve conflict in Haiti, and observe elections in Jamaica. His courage and integrity will be an inspiration for generations to come. We will keep his family in our prayers during this difficult time."

Those are the kind of remarks that the world should expect to hear from the leaders of a nation when someone of Colin Powell's stature passes away.   But it was not surprising when the only other living ex-president, Donald J. Trump, a ill-mannered narcissist with no regard for the feelings of others, took a different tact.  Here was Trump's classless thoughts on the matter:

"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!"

CNN credited that statement as proving that, with Trump, there is no bottom.