Former Secretary of State Colin Powell had harsh words for the Republican presidential candidates who are “belittling the country.”
While speaking Sunday about the death of Nancy Reagan in an interview with NPR, Powell said the former first lady would be “disturbed” by the treatment given to legacy of her husband, former President Ronald Reagan. Embracing Reagan and his principles has become a rallying cry of sorts for anyone seeking to court Republican voters.
Powell said the Republican candidates for president are performing “junior high school tricks on one another,” In the process they are “belittling the country and belittling the office to which they are striving.”
By comparison, Powell said Reagan displayed “civility” and a “lack of any nastiness.” Powell served as Reagan’s national security adviser from 1987 to 1989.
“Even Jerry Springer thinks it’s gone too far, and when Jerry Springer thinks you’ve gone to far, my friends, you have gone too far,” said Powell, referring to the former talk show host’s criticism of the GOP field in a recent interview with the Financial Times.
“We have to become more respectful of each other,” Powell told fellow Republicans.
Powell has previously condemned what has become an unusual election season for the Republican Party, in which controversial outsider candidate Donald Trump is leading the pack.
Powell said it “should be obvious to party leaders that they cannot keep saying and doing the things that they were doing and hope to be successful in national-level election in the future,” during the Washington Ideas Forum in September. Powell cited Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, saying, “I don’t agree that it’s the Republican position on immigration.”
While he supported Barack Obama’s candidacy for president in 2008 and 2012, Powell says he remains a Republican.
