Leaked emails show Colin Powell called Donald Trump 'a national disgrace'

Colin Powell.
(Image credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

Several personal emails sent by former Secretary of State Colin Powell were leaked on Tuesday, and reveal his thoughts on "national disgrace" and "international pariah" Donald Trump.

The emails were obtained by DCLeaks.com, a website that reportedly has ties to Russian intelligence services, and seen by BuzzFeed. In a July 17, 2016, email to journalist Emily Miller, a former aide, Powell made his remarks about Trump being a "disgrace" and "pariah," adding he was in the "process of destroying himself" and there was "no need for Dems to attack him." On August 21, he wrote to Miller that the "whole birther movement was racist. That's what the 99 percent believe. When Trump couldn't keep that up he said he also wanted to see if the certificate noted that he was a Muslim. … As I have said before, 'What if he was?' Muslims are born as Americans everyday."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.