Former U.S. Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright made a television appearance on Sunday during which they criticized President Trump.
Powell told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that President Trump’s critical remarks on news media had transitioned the country from a “We the people” position to that of “me the president.”
Watch the video of his remarks below:
“You see things that should not be happening,” Powell said. “How can a president of the United States get up and say that the media is the enemy of Americans? Hasn’t he read the First Amendment? You are not supposed to like everything the press says, or what anyone says…that’s why we have a First Amendment, to protect that kind of speech.”
“I hope the president can come to the realization that he should really stop insulting people,” Powell continued. “I used this two years ago when I said I could not vote for him in the 2016 election. Why? He insulted everybody. He insulted African-Americans, he insulted women, he insulted immigrants. He insulted our best friends around the world—all of his fellow candidates up on the stage during the debates.”
“I don’t think that’s what should be coming out of a president of the United States. But I don’t see anything that’s changed in the last two years,” he added.
Powell then called on members of Congress and the American people to “take a hard look at yourself” to consider what they’re “doing to keep these forces in check.”
Colin Powell Condemns Trump on Immigration, NATO, Anti-Press Rhetoric: The World Can’t Believe What’s Happening https://t.co/Gk6p34P7SH pic.twitter.com/5Fbhwds9Br
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) October 7, 2018
Albright concurred with Powell’s remarks, saying that the U.S. is taking steps into “a direction where there is no respect for institutions, where we call the press ‘the enemy of the people,’ where the President thinks he’s above the law, and where we are not engaged enough in political activity.”
Additionally, Albright and Powell both denounced President Trump’s immigration policy, citing their own experiences to promote a pro-immigration position.
“The world is watching,” added Powell, who is a son of Jamaican immigrants. “They cannot believe we’re doing things like separating mothers and children who are trying to get across the border from south of our border. They can’t believe we’re making such an effort to cease immigration coming into the country. It’s what’s kept us alive!”
Albright described Trump’s presidency as “a tumultuous time where there is just hatred.” She added, “I really am appalled.”
