Colin Powell Publicly Supports Joe Biden At 2020 DNC

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell became the second high profile Republican party member to address the Democratic National Convention in support of Joe Biden, who was officially nominated Tuesday Night (Aug. 18).

Opening by remembering his parents, who immigrated from Jamaica and raised him in New York’s South Bronx, Powell, who served as Secretary of State under President George W. Bush, he crossed party lines to back Biden, who he said cares for military families.

“Our country needs a commander in chief who takes care of our troops in the same way he would his own family,” said Powell, who is also a retired four-star U.S. Army general. “For Joe Biden, that doesn’t need teaching. It comes from the experience he shares with millions of military families—sending his beloved son off to war and praying to God he would come home safe.”

Powell, who also served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush and National Security Advisor under President Ronald Reagan, has been critical of President Trump in the past. He told CNN in June that Trump has drifted away from the U.S. Constitution, joining the rebukes of other military leaders.

Powell took a shot at Trump, calling him a divider and saying that Biden will restore the alliances America needs in the world to address major challenges like climate change and nuclear proliferation.

“Today, we are a country divided, and we have a president doing everything in his power to make it that way and keep us that way,” said Powell. “What a difference it will make to have a president who unites us, who restores our strength and our soul.”