President Biden on Monday hailed Colin L. Powell as a “patriot of unmatched honor and dignity” who embodied the American dream after the family of the former secretary of state announced his death due to complications from COVID-19.
Mr. Biden said Mr. Powell, who was 84, was both an esteemed military man and diplomat and a personal friend “who could drive his Corvette Stingray like nobody’s business — something I learned firsthand on the race track when I was vice president.”
“Colin was always someone who gave you his best and treated you with respect. Colin embodied the highest ideals of both warrior and diplomat. He was committed to our nation’s strength and security above all,” Mr. Biden said. “Time and again, he put country before self, before party, before all else — in uniform and out — and it earned him the universal respect of the American people.”
Mr. Biden highlighted the general’s rise as the son of immigrants in New York City to the halls of power and, as the first Black national security adviser and secretary of state, someone who has “repeatedly broken racial barriers, blazing a trail” for others to follow.
The president, a Democrat, also thanked Mr. Powell, a Republican, for supporting his candidacy last year “and for our shared battle for the soul of the nation” in his contest against then-President Donald Trump.
“Above all, Colin was my friend. Easy to share a laugh with,” Mr. Biden said. “A trusted confidant in good and hard times.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a formal statement that praised Mr. Powell in similar terms and said his death serves as a reminder of the fight against the pandemic.
“The sad loss of Colin Powell is another sad indication of the devastating toll that the coronavirus continues to take on our country,” she said.
As the nation prays for the Powell family, the speaker said, “We pray for the families of the nearly 725,000 Americans who have been taken from us by this vicious virus.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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