Editing Colin Powell (section)

==Political positions==
{{External media|title=Powell condemns President Trump for the January 6 United States Capitol attack|video1=[https://www.today.com/news/trump-should-resign-nixon-colin-powell-says-today-t205335 ''TODAY'' interview on NBC with Powell calling for President Trump's resignation, 8 January 2021], [[Today (American TV program)|TODAY]]}}

During his early political career through his tenure within the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], Powell was an [[Independent politician|independent]]. Powell was a [[Moderate conservatism|moderate Republican]] from 1995 until 2021. In 2021, Powell recanted his status as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] following the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|storming of the United States Capitol]] on 6 January. The attack moved Powell to call for President [[Donald Trump|Trump]]'s resignation, noting: "I wish he would do what [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] did and just step down. Somebody ought to go up to him and it's over". Powell also accused Trump of attempting to "[[Coup d'état|overthrow the government]]", and that Trump's [[Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election|false claims of a stolen election]] were "dangerous for our democracy".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Colin Powell says he no longer considers himself a Republican|website=[[CNN]] |date=January 10, 2021 |format=CNN Video|url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2021/01/10/exp-gps-0110-powell-on-capitol-attack.cnn|access-date=January 10, 2021|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111001916/https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2021/01/10/exp-gps-0110-powell-on-capitol-attack.cnn|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Porter |first=Tom |title=Colin Powell in his final interview accused Trump of attempting to 'overturn the government' by inciting January 6 riot |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/colin-powell-last-interview-bashed-trump-over-capitol-riot-2021-10 |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> Powell was [[pro-choice]] regarding [[Abortion in the United States|abortion]],<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Rozell|first1=Mark J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ExrbUtDV1zYC|title=God at the Grass Roots, 1996: The Christian Right in the American Elections|last2=Wilcox|first2=Clyde|date=1997|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-8476-8611-7|language=en|page=258|access-date=October 19, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020123820/https://books.google.com/books?id=ExrbUtDV1zYC|url-status=live}}</ref> and expressed some support for an [[Assault weapons legislation in the United States|assault weapons ban]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Siddiqui|first=Sabrina|date=January 13, 2013|title=Colin Powell Shows Support For Gun Control Measures, Including Assault Weapons Ban|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/colin-powell-gun-control_n_2467890|access-date=October 19, 2021|website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en|archive-date=October 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018150743/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/colin-powell-gun-control_n_2467890|url-status=live}}</ref> He stated in his autobiography that he supported [[affirmative action]] that levels the playing field, without giving a leg up to undeserving persons because of racial issues. Powell originally suggested the [[don't ask, don't tell]] policy to President Clinton,{{sfn|O'Sullivan|2009|p=106}} though he later supported its repeal as proposed by [[Robert Gates]] and Admiral [[Mike Mullen]] in January 2010, saying "circumstances had changed".<ref>{{cite news |title=Colin Powell shifts stance on 'don't ask, don't tell' policy |last=DeYoung |first=Karen |author-link=Karen DeYoung |date=February 3, 2010 |access-date=February 3, 2010 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020302292.html |archive-date=August 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822004841/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020302292.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 

{{external media | width = 210px | align =  | headerimage= |title=Powell on ''My American Journey''| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?68953-1/american-journey ''Booknotes'' interview with Powell on ''My American Journey'', 7 January 1996], [[C-SPAN]]}}

Powell gained attention in 2004 when, in a conversation with [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|British Foreign Secretary]] [[Jack Straw]], he reportedly referred to [[Neoconservatism|neoconservatives]] within the Bush administration as "fucking crazies".<ref>{{Cite news  |last = Blumenthal  |first = Sidney  |title = Colin and the crazies  |work = The Guardian  |location = London  |date = November 18, 2004 |url = https://www.theguardian.com/usa/story/0,12271,1353796,00.html  |access-date = February 3, 2007 |archive-date = October 20, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020123703/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/nov/18/usa.comment  |url-status = live  }}</ref>

In a September 2006 letter to [[John McCain]], Powell expressed opposition to President Bush's push for [[Guantanamo military commission|military tribunals]] of those formerly and currently classified as [[enemy combatants]]. Specifically, he objected to the effort in Congress to "redefine Common Article 3 of the [[Geneva Convention]]". He also asserted: "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism".<ref>{{cite news |title=Sen. McCain Releases Letter from Gen. Colin Powell |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 14, 2006 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2006/09/14/GR2006091400728.html |access-date=August 25, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017121552/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2006/09/14/GR2006091400728.html }}</ref>

===Defending the Iraq War===
At the 2007 [[Aspen Ideas Festival]] in Colorado,<ref>See [http://www.aifestival.org/ Official website: Aspen Ideas Festival ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712175130/http://www.aifestival.org/ |date=July 12, 2007 }}</ref> Powell stated that he had spent two and a half hours explaining to President Bush "the consequences of going into an Arab country and becoming the occupiers". During this discussion, he insisted that the U.S. appeal to the United Nations first, but if diplomacy failed, he would support the invasion: "I also had to say to him that you are the President, you will have to make the ultimate judgment, and if the judgment is this isn't working and we don't think it is going to solve the problem, then if military action is undertaken I'm with you, I support you".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aifestival.org/library/transcript/Powell-Lehrer_transcript.pdf|title=Conversation with Colin Powell|publisher=Aspen Ideas Festival|date=July 2007|access-date=February 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227081751/http://www.aifestival.org/library/transcript/Powell-Lehrer_transcript.pdf|archive-date=February 27, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In a 2008 interview on [[CNN]], Powell reiterated his support for the 2003 decision to [[2003 Invasion of Iraq|invade Iraq]] in the context of his endorsement of [[Barack Obama]], stating: "My role has been very, very straightforward. I wanted to avoid a war. The president [Bush] agreed with me. We tried to do that. We couldn't get it through the U.N. and when the president made the decision, I supported that decision. And I've never blinked from that. I've never said I didn't support a decision to go to war".<ref name="edition.cnn.com">{{cite web |title=Powell: Support for Obama doesn't mean Iraq war wrong |publisher=CNN |date=October 19, 2008 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/powell.transcript/ |access-date=August 25, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020123714/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/19/powell.transcript/ }}</ref>

Powell's position on the [[Iraq War troop surge of 2007]] was less consistent. In December 2006, he expressed skepticism that the strategy would work and whether the U.S. military had enough troops to carry it out successfully. He stated: "I am not persuaded that another surge of troops into [[Baghdad]] for the purposes of suppressing this communitarian violence, this civil war, will work".<ref>{{cite web |first=James M. |last=Klatell |title=Powell: We Are Losing In Iraq |publisher=CBS News |date=December 17, 2006 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/powell-we-are-losing-in-iraq/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 13, 2011 |archive-date=January 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110130111311/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/17/ftn/main2274583.shtml }}</ref> Following his endorsement of Barack Obama in October 2008, however, Powell praised [[David Petraeus|General David Petraeus]] and U.S. troops, as well as the Iraqi government, concluding that "it's starting to turn around".<ref name="edition.cnn.com"/> By mid-2009, he had concluded a surge of U.S. forces in Iraq should have come sooner, perhaps in late 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009420450_apuspowell.html |title=Powell says Iraq surge should have come earlier |work=The Seattle Times |date=July 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=February 13, 2011 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628183346/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009420450_apuspowell.html }}</ref>

===Endorsement of Barack Obama===
Powell donated the maximum allowable amount to [[John McCain]]'s campaign in the summer of 2007<ref name=CNN_Henry_20070809>{{Cite news  |last = Henry  |first = Ed  |title = Powell donates to McCain  |publisher = CNN  |date = August 9, 2007 |url = http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/09/powell-donates-to-mccain/  |access-date = August 9, 2007 |url-status = dead  |archive-date = October 20, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211020123808/https://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/08/09/powell-donates-to-mccain/  }}</ref> and in early 2008, his name was listed as a possible [[running mate]] for Republican nominee McCain's bid during the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 U.S. presidential election]].<ref name=Reuters_Holland_20080305>{{cite news |access-date=April 14, 2008
|url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/05/mccain_now_has_to_pick_a_vice_presidential_nominee/  |last = Holland  |first = Steve  |title = McCain now has to pick a vice presidential nominee  |agency=Reuters |work=[[The Boston Globe]]  |date = March 5, 2008 }}</ref>

McCain won the Republican presidential nomination, but the Democrats nominated the first black candidate, Senator [[Barack Obama]] of Illinois. On 19 October 2008, Powell announced his endorsement of Obama during a ''[[Meet the Press]]'' interview, citing "his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities", in addition to his "style and substance". He additionally referred to Obama as a "transformational figure".<ref name=obamaendorse/><ref name=transcript/> Powell further questioned McCain's judgment in appointing [[Sarah Palin]] as the vice presidential candidate, stating that despite the fact that she is admired, "now that we have had a chance to watch her for some seven weeks, I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States, which is the job of the vice president". He said that Obama's choice for vice president, [[Joe Biden]], was ready to be president. He also added that he was "troubled" by the "false intimations that Obama was Muslim". Powell stated that "[Obama] is a Christian{{snd}}he's always been a Christian... But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America". Powell then mentioned [[Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan]], a [[List of North American Muslims|Muslim American]] soldier in the [[U.S. Army]] who served and died in the Iraq War. He later stated, "Over the last seven weeks, the approach of the Republican Party has become narrower and narrower [...] I look at these kind of approaches to the campaign, and they trouble me".<ref name=obamaendorse>{{Cite news |title = Powell endorses Obama for president; Republican ex-Secretary of State calls Democrat 'transformational figure' |series = Meet the Press |publisher = NBC News |date = October 19, 2008 |url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27265369 |access-date = October 19, 2008 |archive-date = October 30, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131030040508/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27265369/ |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=transcript>{{Cite news  |title =Meet the Press' transcript for October&nbsp;19, 2008  |publisher =NBC News  |date =October 19, 2008 |url =https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27266223  |access-date =October 19, 2008 |archive-date =September 10, 2013 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130910011917/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/27266223/  |url-status =live  }}</ref> Powell concluded his [[Sunday morning talk show]] comments with "It isn't easy for me to disappoint Sen. McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that [...] I think we need a [[transformational figure]]. I think we need a president who is a [[generational change]] and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Sen. John McCain".<ref>{{cite news |last=Ohlemacher |first=Stephen |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-10-19-1007802625_x.htm |title=Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president |work=USA Today |date=October 20, 2008 |access-date=August 29, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-date=December 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201192906/http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-10-19-1007802625_x.htm }}</ref> Later in a 12 December 2008, [[CNN]] interview with [[Fareed Zakaria]], Powell reiterated his belief that during the last few months of the campaign, Palin pushed the Republican party further to the [[political right|right]] and had a polarizing impact on it.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/12/12/gps.powell.limbaugh.cnn |title=Powell on Rush Limbaugh |publisher=CNN |date=July 16, 2010 |access-date=August 29, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230111923/http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/12/12/gps.powell.limbaugh.cnn }}</ref>

When asked why he was still a Republican on ''Meet the Press'' he said, "I'm still a Republican. And I think the Republican Party needs me more than the Democratic Party needs me. And you can be a Republican and still feel strongly about issues such as immigration, and improving our education system, and doing something about some of the social problems that exist in our society and our country. I don't think there's anything inconsistent with this".<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://lonelyconservative.com/2014/02/colin-powell-republican-party-needs-me-more-than-the-democratic-party-needs-me/
 |title        = Colin Powell: Republican Party Needs Me More Than The Democratic Party Needs Me
 |date         = February 7, 2014
|website      = TheLonelyConservative.com
 |access-date   = February 7, 2014
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140303223201/http://lonelyconservative.com/2014/02/colin-powell-republican-party-needs-me-more-than-the-democratic-party-needs-me/
 |archive-date = March 3, 2014
|url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

===Views on the Obama administration===
In a July 2009 [[CNN]] interview with [[John King (journalist)|John King]], Powell expressed concern over President Obama increasing the size of the federal government and the size of the federal budget deficit.<ref name=WashTimes>{{cite news |title=Powell airs doubts on Obama agenda |date=July 3, 2009 |access-date=September 17, 2010 |work=The Washington Times |last=Ward |first=Jon |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/03/powell-airs-doubts-on-obama-agenda/ |archive-date=December 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212023304/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/03/powell-airs-doubts-on-obama-agenda/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2010, he criticized the [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] for not focusing "like a razor blade" on the economy and job creation. Powell reiterated that Obama was a "transformational figure".<ref>{{cite web |first=Carrie |last=Budoff Brown |title=Colin Powell critical of President Obama |work=Politico |date=September 19, 2010 |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42381.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2021 |archive-date=December 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214033244/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42381.html }}</ref> In a video that aired on CNN.com in November 2011, Colin Powell said in reference to Barack Obama, "many of his decisions have been quite sound. The financial system was put back on a stable basis".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/11/11/bts-piers-colin-powell-intv.cnn?iref=allsearch | publisher=CNN | title=Video | url-status=dead | access-date=December 15, 2008 | archive-date=December 30, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230111923/http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2011/11/11/bts-piers-colin-powell-intv.cnn?iref=allsearch }}</ref>

On 25 October 2012, 12 days before the [[2012 United States presidential election|presidential election]], he gave his endorsement to President Obama for re-election during a broadcast of ''[[CBS This Morning]]''. He considered the administration to have had success and achieved progress in foreign and domestic policy arenas. As additional reasons for his endorsement, Powell cited the changing positions and perceived lack of thoughtfulness of [[Mitt Romney]] on foreign affairs, and a concern for the validity of Romney's economic plans.<ref name="endorses Obama 2012">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colin-powell-endorses-barack-obama-for-president/|title=Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president|publisher=CBS News|date=October 25, 2012|access-date=August 18, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027201908/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57539893/colin-powell-endorses-barack-obama-for-president/|archive-date=October 27, 2012}}</ref>

In an interview with [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s [[Diane Sawyer]] and [[George Stephanopoulos]] during ABC's coverage of President Obama's second inauguration, Powell criticized members of the Republican Party who spread "things that demonize the president". He called on GOP leaders to publicly denounce such talk.<ref>{{cite web |title=Colin Powell Slams 'Idiot Presentations' by Some Republicans, Urges GOP Leaders to 'Speak Out' |work=ABC News |last=Falcone |first=Michael |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/colin-powell-slams-idiot-presentations-by-some-republicans-urges-gop-leaders-to-speak-out-2/ |date=January 21, 2013|access-date=January 22, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-date=January 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122014437/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/01/colin-powell-slams-idiot-presentations-by-some-republicans-urges-gop-leaders-to-speak-out-2/ }}</ref>

===2016 e-mail leaks and criticism of Donald Trump===
Powell was very vocal on the state of the Republican Party. Speaking at a Washington Ideas forum in early October 2015, he warned the audience that the Republican Party had begun a move to the fringe right, lessening the chances of a Republican White House in the future. He also remarked on Republican presidential candidate [[Donald Trump]]'s statements regarding immigrants, noting that there were many immigrants working in Trump hotels.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/colin-powell-slams-donald-trumps-immigration-plan-163454530.html |title=Colin Powell slams Donald Trump's immigration plan |publisher=Yahoo! News |last=Stableford |first=Dylan |date=October 1, 2015 |access-date=September 14, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921203019/https://www.yahoo.com/news/colin-powell-slams-donald-trumps-immigration-plan-163454530.html }}</ref>

In March 2016, Powell denounced the "nastiness" of the [[2016 Republican primaries]] during an interview on [[CBS This Morning|CBS ''This Morning'']]. He compared the race to reality television, and stated that the campaign had gone "into the mud".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-powell-gop-race_us_56dda980e4b0000de405301a |title=Colin Powell: The GOP Race Has 'Gone Into The Mud' |last=Reilly |first=Mollie |work=HuffPost |date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=September 14, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913170637/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-powell-gop-race_us_56dda980e4b0000de405301a }}</ref>

In August 2016, Powell accused the [[Hillary Clinton]] campaign of trying to pin her [[Hillary Clinton's email controversy|email controversy]] on him. Speaking to [[People (magazine)|''People'']] magazine, Powell said, "The truth is, she was using [the private email server] for a year before I sent her a memo telling her what I did".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.people.com/article/colin-powell-hillary-clinton-pinning-email-scandal-on-him |title=Colin Powell Says Hillary Clinton's 'People Have Been Trying to Pin' Email Scandal on Him |work=People |date=August 21, 2016 |access-date=September 14, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-date=September 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912194133/http://www.people.com/article/colin-powell-hillary-clinton-pinning-email-scandal-on-him }}</ref>

On 13 September 2016, emails were obtained that revealed Powell's private communications regarding both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Powell privately reiterated his comments regarding Clinton's email scandal, writing, "I have told Hillary's minions repeatedly that they are making a mistake trying to drag me in, yet they still try", and complaining that "Hillary's mafia keeps trying to suck me into it" in another email.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/09/13/colin-powell-hacked-emails/90341788/|title=Colin Powell calls Trump 'national disgrace' in hacked emails|first=William|last=Cummings|website=USA Today|date=September 13, 2016|access-date=August 25, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=June 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627150352/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/09/13/colin-powell-hacked-emails/90341788/}}</ref> In another email discussing Clinton's controversy, Powell said she should have told everyone what she did "two years ago", and said that she has not "been covering herself with glory". Writing on the [[2012 Benghazi attack]] controversy surrounding Clinton, Powell said to then U.S. Ambassador [[Susan Rice]], "Benghazi is a stupid witch hunt". Commenting on Clinton in a general sense, he mused that "Everything HRC touches she kind of screws up with hubris", and in another email stated "I would rather not have to vote for her, although she is a friend I respect".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-powell-hillary-clinton_us_57d96524e4b09d7a6880bf1c|title=Colin Powell Attacked Hillary Clinton's 'Hubris' In Leaked Emails|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=September 14, 2016|first=Paul|last=Blumenthal|url-status=live|access-date=September 15, 2016|archive-date=September 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915181356/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/colin-powell-hillary-clinton_us_57d96524e4b09d7a6880bf1c}}</ref>

Powell called Donald Trump a "national disgrace", with "no sense of shame". He wrote of Trump's role in the [[birther]] movement, which he called "racist". He suggested the media ignore Trump: "To go on and call him an idiot just emboldens him". The emails were obtained by the media as the result of a hack.<ref>{{cite news|last=Blake|first=Aaron|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/14/here-are-the-juiciest-colin-powell-comments-about-trump-and-clinton-from-his-leaked-emails/|title=Here are the juiciest Colin Powell comments about Trump and Clinton from his hacked emails|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 14, 2016|access-date=June 7, 2020|url-status=live|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611000603/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/14/here-are-the-juiciest-colin-powell-comments-about-trump-and-clinton-from-his-leaked-emails/}}</ref>

Powell endorsed Clinton on 25 October 2016, stating it was "because I think she's qualified, and the other gentleman is not qualified".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/30/heres-the-growing-list-of-big-name-republicans-supporting-hillary-clinton/ |title=78 Republican politicians, donors and officials who are supporting Hillary Clinton |last=Blake |first=Aaron |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 7, 2016 |access-date=August 25, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=August 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818161636/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/30/heres-the-growing-list-of-big-name-republicans-supporting-hillary-clinton/ }}</ref>

Despite not running in the election, Powell received three electoral votes for president from [[faithless electors]] in Washington who had pledged to vote for Clinton, coming in third overall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/four-washington-electors-break-ranks-and-dont-vote-for-clinton/ |title=Four Washington state electors break ranks and don't vote for Clinton |work=The Seattle Times |last=Brunner |first=Jim |date=December 19, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=December 19, 2016 |archive-date=December 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219230802/http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/four-washington-electors-break-ranks-and-dont-vote-for-clinton/ }}</ref> After Barack Obama, he was the second black person to receive electoral votes in a presidential election.<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 12, 2019|title=Electoral College Results|url=https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/results|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=National Archives|language=en|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019042904/https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/results|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Views on the Trump administration===
In an interview in October 2019, Powell warned that the GOP needed to "get a grip" and put the country before their party, standing up to then-president Trump rather than worrying about political fallout. He said: "When they see things that are not right, they need to say something about it because our foreign policy is in shambles right now, in my humble judgment, and I see things happening that are hard to understand".<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Yahoo! News |title=Colin Powell: Republicans Terrified Of Speaking Out Need To 'Get A Grip' |date=October 6, 2019 |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/colin-powell-republicans-terrified-of-speaking-out-need-to-get-a-grip-195747765.html |last=Russo |first=Amy |access-date=August 25, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018165321/https://www.yahoo.com/news/colin-powell-republicans-terrified-of-speaking-out-need-to-get-a-grip-195747765.html }}</ref> On 7 June 2020, Powell announced he would be voting for former vice president [[Joe Biden]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election]].<ref name="CNN20200607">{{cite news|last=Cole|first=Devan|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/07/politics/colin-powell-biden-trump-2020-cnntv/index.html|title=Colin Powell says he will vote for Joe Biden for president|publisher=CNN|date=June 7, 2020|access-date=June 7, 2020|archive-date=June 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607150330/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/07/politics/colin-powell-biden-trump-2020-cnntv/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In August, Powell delivered a speech in support of Biden's candidacy at the [[2020 Democratic National Convention]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Kate |title=Colin Powell touts Biden's character at DNC: 'We need to restore those values to the White House' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/politics/colin-powell-biden-convention/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=January 12, 2021 |date=August 19, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020123817/https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/politics/colin-powell-biden-convention/index.html }}</ref>

In January 2021, after [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|the Capitol building was attacked]] by Trump supporters, Powell told CNN: "I can no longer call myself a fellow Republican".<ref name="nolongerconsider">{{cite news |last1=Pitofsky |first1=Marina |title=Colin Powell: 'I can no longer call myself a fellow Republican' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/news/533575-colin-powell-i-can-no-longer-call-myself-a-fellow-republican |access-date=January 10, 2021 |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date=January 10, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111015444/https://thehill.com/homenews/news/533575-colin-powell-i-can-no-longer-call-myself-a-fellow-republican }}</ref>