Colin Powell Endorses Biden for President at 2020 Democratic National Convention [FILE]

Former US Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell died on Monday morning, October 18, due to complications from COVID-19, his family announced on Facebook.

Powell was fully vaccinated against the virus, his family noted. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather, and a great American,” they wrote.

Powell, who served under the Republican president George W Bush, endorsed the Democratic Party’s Joe Biden for president in the 2020 election against the GOP candidate, Donald Trump. His endorsement of Biden was announced in a video that featured on Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2020.

Powell had previously endorsed President Barack Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, and backed Hillary Clinton against Trump in 2016.

Explaining his decision to support Obama in 2008, Powell said he was concerned about the rightward swing of the Republican Party, was “troubled” by efforts by Senator John McCain’s campaign to tie Obama to 1960s radical activist Bill Ayers and to cast suspicion over him due to his familial ties to Islam.

Speaking to NBC’s Meet The Press, Powell said: “It was beyond just good political fighting back and forth. I think it went beyond. And to sort of throw in this little Muslim connection, you know, ’He’s a Muslim and, my goodness, he’s a terrorist’ — it was taking root. And we can’t judge our people and we can’t hold our elections on that kind of basis.” Credit: Democratic National Convention via Storyful