On Sunday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke out against President Donald Trump, saying he has "drifted away" from the Constitution. The Republican joins a growing chorus of former military officials who have condemned the president's response to the recent spate of protests after the president fired back on Twitter. Commenters are now divided over the issue.
Powell appeared on CNN's State of the Union this weekend, telling host Jake Tapper: "We have a Constitution. And we have to follow that Constitution. And the President has drifted away from it." The comments struck a unique note in the current public discourse — Powell was the first African American to be named the Secretary of State, yet he is also highly distinguished within the military. He said that he was "proud" to hear other high-ranking officials speak out against Trump and to see protesters taking a stand against his administration.
"I think what we're seeing now, is (the most) massive protest movement I have ever seen in my life, I think it suggests the country is getting wise to this and we're not going to put up with it anymore," Powell said. "I watched the senators heading into the chamber the other day after all this broke, with the reporters saying, 'What do you have to say? What do they you to say?' "They had nothing to say. They would not react."
Trump fired off angry tweets at Powell throughout the day on Sunday. Some were belated rebuttals to Powell's statements on the air, while others were simply personal attacks. Having served under President George W. Bush, Powell has his own controversial legacy, yet he has been a consistent opponent of Trump since the 2016 election.
With all these political and ideological threads pulling in different directions, the discourse around Powell, Trump, the U.S. military and American racism was confusing on Sunday. Here's a look at how Twitter handled the conversation.