--- title: Colin Powell Says He's Voting for Hillary Clinton description: Colin Powell says he's voting for his fellow former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this election season canonical: https://time.com/4545542/colin-powell-voting-for-hillary-clinton/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-25T23:32:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:25.334Z article:section: Politics og:title: Colin Powell Says He's Voting for Hillary Clinton og:description: The Republican praised his fellow former Secretary of State's leadership skills og:url: https://time.com/4545542/colin-powell-voting-for-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte525b902ada6e505/6988ab910b72e304176eb7fd/colinpowell.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: A Capitol Fourth og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Colin Powell Says He's Voting for Hillary Clinton twitter:description: The Republican praised his fellow former Secretary of State's leadership skills twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte525b902ada6e505/6988ab910b72e304176eb7fd/colinpowell.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Colin Powell Says He's Voting for Hillary Clinton > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=2b91bde7-1e32-49af-8b30-b158da5814c3&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Oct 25, 2016 11:32 PM UTC  Former Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.) onstage at A Capitol Fourth concert at the U.S. Capitol, West Lawn, on July 4, 2016 in Washington, DC. Former Gen. Colin Powell (Ret.) onstage at A Capitol Fourth concert at the U.S. Capitol, West Lawn, on July 4, 2016 in Washington, DC. Paul Morigi—Getty Images for Capital Concert by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Oct 25, 2016 11:32 PM UTC [Colin Powell](http://time.com/4492739/colin-powell-donald-trump-email/) says he’s voting for his fellow former Secretary of State this election season. Powell announced his intentions at a meeting of the Long Island Association on Tuesday, his assistant confirmed to TIME. Those present at the event [said](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/us/politics/colin-powell-hillary-clinton.html?%5Fr=0) he praised [Hillary Clinton’s](http://time.com/4545302/hillary-clinton-69th-birthday/) leadership skills and underlined [Donald Trump’s](http://time.com/4545309/donald-trump-lgbt-ad/) lack of preparedness for the nation’s highest office, the New York _Times_ reports. In September, a [hack of Powell’s email](http://time.com/4492739/colin-powell-donald-trump-email/) account revealed his disdain for Trump and his ambivalence toward Clinton. 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