Did Donald Trump Issue a Statement Calling the Late Colin Powell a ‘RINO’?

The statement is authentic.

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With a (shall we say) unique approach to grammar and style, former President Donald Trump’s personal messages have been an easy target for parodists. One doesn’t have to look far for fake Trump emails or tweets from before he was banned from the platform that were mistaken to be authentic by some online. So when a screenshot of an email purportedly from Trump about the passing of Colin Powell began circulating, some social media users were understandably skeptical it was real, especially since it didn’t appear on Trump’s website. 

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    Ha I got a kick out of the subtitle.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Ben Connelly

      Seems like something a good Millennial would say. Or Gen Z. Do they still use “authentic”? Is that what the kids are saying these days?

      I didn’t know what the kids were saying when I was in college let alone now.

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    Matt J

    Just like with John McCain, he can't stop being an asshole even when people die.
    I hope Trump gets a real Mozart funeral.

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      Jordan

      What is a "real Mozart funeral?"

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        Matt J

        https://youtu.be/TUt4DfGnyJQ?t=145

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  3. Paul K

    “Hope that happens to me someday.” Trust Trump to turn Powell’s death into an opportunity for narcissistic self-pity.

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    Mannings

    Thank God for men like Colin Powell who think for themselves, rather than falling in lock-step with whichever party they think can best help them rise to the top.

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    Victor Clairmont

    I mean, in the long list of things Trump has said that was nasty, this isn’t one of the top ten I think. Sad I know…

    But it’s still pretty petty. Thank you for the fact check—-

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  6. Jim L

    How does this man have one person who follows him?

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    Everybody Digs Bill Evans

    Breaking news: The x-rays proving Trump had bone spurs that “disqualified” him from military service were actually located inside his skull and not on his foot.

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  8. Alex DeLarge

    One of your screenshots has the "RINO" line, the other two don't. What's up with that?

    Anyway, Powell endorsed and supported Obama, so the only part of the "RINO" line that is arguably inaccurate is that Powell was even a Republican in name to begin with. And of course he did make big mistakes on Iraq.

    How long are we supposed to wait to speak ill of the dead, anyway?

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      Devin H

      This is a really strange comment. Are you refuting the Fact Check that it was a legitimate statement from Donald Trump or are you defending the use of the term "RINO" against General Powell? The first one is a matter of reading the article and clicking on the tweet screenshot to see the whole thing. The second has nothing to do with the article and everything to do with pettiness and absolute lack of grace.

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      1. Alex DeLarge

        Here's the deal: There isn't a factual dispute about whether Trump made the statement. So it's unworthy of a a fact-check. But TD is just using the "fact check" as a vehicle to advance their anti-Trump agenda by saying: "Hey everybody, look at this outrageous thing Trump said."

        They do this of course because their agenda is to amplify anti-Trump messaging and to tee up the comments section to pile on to how awful Trump is and how awful his mean tweet, er, email is.

        If Trump's email had said Colin Powell was just a sweet guy, TD wouldn't fact check whether Trump actually authored the email. So the real issue is the anti-Trump messaging being smuggled in through the pretext of a "fact-check."

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          Devin H

          Again, you either didn't read the article or you're willfully being a troll. The article states why they're doing the fact check:

          "...some social media users were understandably skeptical it was real, especially since it didn't appear on Trump's website."

          The Dispatch is part of the Facebook fact check group, so of course this would come up as a fact check here because there was, indeed, a factual dispute.

          If Trump had made a gracious statement commemorating General Powell then I doubt anyone would have seen the need to protect him from other notable people and news outlets rightly calling him out for being a depressingly sad narcissist. Thus, I ultimately agree with you there would have been no need for a fact check. You're right in the end!

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          1. Alex DeLarge

            You are the one who is being obtuse. I said they were using the fact-check as a "pretext." And then you say it's not a pretext because fact checking is the (pretext) they listed.

            And just to prove my point, an anti-Trump partisan admits she submitted the email to promote negative messaging about Trump. She's an anti-Trump partisan who is cruising Trump's site looking for stuff to use -- so she's obviously a serious anti-Trump activist. Are you starting to understand how the TD's "fact check" program works yet?

            Its just an anti-Trump mutual aid society. That's what being "part of the Facebook fact check group" means. Zuckerberg spent $300 million to rig the election, rigged all the FB algorithms, and currently bans Trump and Trump content from FB. So of course being part of the Zuckerberg-funded team means the TD is biased.

            Which is fine. Except they shouldn't pretend to be being doing neutral, randomly selected fact-checks for sincerely confused members of the public.

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            Linda Beggs

            I actually submitted this to TD factcheck email because I couldn't find it on the "Save America" website yet was being widely reported. Despite having no expectations of decency from Trump, I realize that there are people who might be interested in mischief by falsely attributing statements to him and briefly thought "Maybe this isn't true." I appreciate the clarification from TD.

            By the way, it's one thing to make impolitic remarks. It's a totally different thing to respond to someone's death with an insulting email to raise money. But, hey!, the policies...

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        Mudskipper

        Alex DeLarge has appointed himself as the contrarian fact checker of the fact check. Since being contrarian is his main motivation, he frequently gets his checks of the fact checks wrong.

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    2. Anthony

      There is no time limit on intentionally and publicly speaking ill of the dead within hours of their death, nor is there a time limit on hypocrisy. I am sure when DJT passes many will immediately highlight his many failures and others will wish for more decency. At the end of the day being called a RINO by a former supporter of Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Edward Kennedy, Charlie Rangel ect. should not tarnish the honorable service of General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.).

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      1. Alex DeLarge

        I don't think Colin Powell's ghost considers "RINO" a big insult. He served in a Republican administration but I doubt he even considered himself to be "a Republican."

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        1. Anthony

          I doubt Gen. Colin Powell in life would be insulted by being called a RINO by a opportunistic politician that he did not support politically. President Trump’s choice to criticize a military veteran upon his death was not meant to insult the former soldiers “ghost”. Instead it was meant to diminish the deceased soldiers reputation and call into question fellow Americans that chose to honor the soldier in death. President Trump using the death of a military veteran as an opportunity to wallow in his own victimhood instead of an opportunity to honor the soldiers service to our country is not surprising. I am thankful that we still live in a country where most fellow citizens tend to honor military veterans upon their death.

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  9. Ingenero.lux

    Donald J Trump is such a classy person. In fact, the classiest. Such a bold, graceful, classy man, generous to a fault to his friends and enemies, overflowing with kind words and warm regards for all mankind.


    Strike that, reverse it. If I ever see an ounce of genuine gratitude from him towards someone who isn’t his devoted lickspittle or who he doesn’t have a use for, I’ll have to start checking the infernal weather forecast for snow. “Ingrate” doesn’t begin to describe him.

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    1. Alex DeLarge

      Remind me, what does he owe Colin Powell for that he's supposed to be grateful for?

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        Patrick O'Rouke

        He didn't owe him anything necessarily. Silence was a fully acceptable (nay, preferable) option.

        He chose to be an asshole about it instead.

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        1. Alex DeLarge

          That's the correct answer I'd say. You can call him an "asshole" but not an "ingrate."

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            Patrick O'Rouke

            He's both. Maybe that statement in particular doesn't prove he's an ingrate but he's done that in spades over time.

            The problem is that too many Republican voters actually prefer assholes and reject non-assholes, so here we are.

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      2. Anthony

        I think all Americans should owe a debt of gratitude to the men and woman for their military service to this country. Without their service the freedom for former political office holders and online pundits to criticize would not be possible. RIP General Powell.

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      3. Ingenero.lux

        You mean besides being grateful to an American hero who spent most of his life in service to the country with great distinction and who helped rebuild the military from its post-Vietnam lows? Maybe gratitude towards the son of immigrants who served this country in its Army for decades, through Vietnam and beyond, while dear, brave Donald faked bone spurs to avoid the draft then lived off his father’s slumlord earnings? Gee, I don’t know. Maybe simply refraining from slandering the newly dead should be sufficient cause for anyone with an ounce of decorum to simply say nothing if they couldn’t muster the decency to be polite. Any appreciation for a man who devoted his life to service to the country should be sufficient reason for anyone with even an iota of gratitude to at least issue a polite statement, even if it noted they had disagreements. Instead we had a spoiled, bratty, draft-dodging coward insult an American hero before he’s even been buried. The country owes the great man a debt of thanks for his service, and instead we have a former President tossing out insults. It’s disgusting, and your attempt to defend this is simply contemptible.

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        1. Alex DeLarge

          He lied about WMD and got 3000 Americans killed (and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis). Why do people think just being in the military makes you a hero. Or being the son of immigrants for that matter. It's lame.

          I agree it was stupid of Trump to make this comment. It just gives Trump haters another orgasm of Trump hate.

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          1. Ingenero.lux

            Lied? Yeah, no - he made a mistake trusting faulty intelligence and publicly admitted as much multiple times.

            And he wasn’t “just” in the military or just the son of immigrants - he was an integral part of the post-Vietnam military overhaul, helping lead the Army to become the professional organization it is today, and joined the military (and served for decades) when many sons of long-time American families were publicly refusing to serve. He began to serve this country before the end of Jim Crow, and became the youngest Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and first African-American Secretary of State.

            But apparently that’s less important than that people are angry with Trump for slandering a good man - a man born without a silver spoon in his mouth who managed nonetheless to rise to greatness.

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        2. Gerald Cuesta

          Ignore this punk. He’s nothing.

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  10. Natty Bumpo

    Being a simple person, it seems that communications from T45 are motivated by:
    1. A desire for attention,
    2. A compulsion to air grievance, and
    3. A jealousy of others receiving praise or recognition.

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About Alec Dent

Alec Dent is the culture editor and a staff writer for The Dispatch. He is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC Chapel Hill, and previously oversaw The Dispatch's fact checking team.
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