Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday afternoon delivered a heartfelt message from Joe Biden on day two of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, giving the former vice president another impetus to his national bona fides of security.
“Joe Biden will be a president, we will all be proud to say hello,” former George W. Bush administration official said in a video message. “With Joe Biden in the White House, you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up against our opponents – never the other way around.”
Powell, a Republican who served in a variety of national security roles in the 1980s and 1990s, is the latest prominent figure from Washington’s defense community to stand behind Biden as he seeks President Donald Trump’s job. of commander-in-chief in November.
“The values I learned growing up in the South Bronx and serving in uniform were the same values that Joe Biden’s parents instilled in him in Scranton, Pennsylvania,” Powell said. “I support Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States, because these values still define him, and we need to repay those values to the White House.”
Democrats have sought to highlight Biden’s capacity to address the nation’s national security. Also on Tuesday, Cindy McCain, the wife of late GOP senator John McCain, appeared to discuss Biden’s close friendship with her husband, who was taken prisoner and tortured while fighting in Vietnam. McCain, however, stopped short of supporting Biden.
The outburst comes as Biden tried to show a contrast with Trump in embracing Republican moderates.
While alive, John McCain occasionally quarreled with Trump, who, while running for president in 2016, said of McCain’s prison in Vietnam that “I like people who are not imprisoned. “
Powell has criticized Trump in the past, saying in June that he would vote for Biden. He lashed out at his criticism of the president during Tuesday’s address.
“Today, we are a divided country, and we have a president who is doing everything in his power to make it this way and keep us that way,” Powell said. What a difference it will make to have a President who unites us, who restores our strength and our soul. “
National security has so far not played a strong role in the 2020 elections, largely taken over by the widespread Covid-19 pandemic and the effect of lockdowns and other preventive measures on the economy.
However, Trump, who is lagging behind in national polls, has had problems with former members of his administration attacking his decision on national security after her departure.
John Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser, published a critical book about the president earlier this year, and has indicated he will not vote for Trump as Biden in November.
On Monday, Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff of the Homeland Security department, published a damning advisory article in The Washington Post accusing the president of making the country less secure. Taylor also signed Biden.
Trump has said Bolton’s book consists of lies and downplayed the DHS official’s position as an unmarried employee.
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