Iran Press/ America: Powell's remark comes just days after he called for President Donald Trump to resign over the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday.
In an interview on CNN, host Fareed Zakaria asked Powell to comment on the Republicans who have "refused to condemn" Trump for inciting the violence that resulted in the Capitol building attack, leaving five people dead.
"They did, and that's why I can no longer call myself a fellow Republican," Powell said. "I am not a fellow of anything right now."
Powell, a prominent critic of Trump over the past four years, also offered a sharp rebuke of the Republicans who have stood with Trump amid his efforts to overturn the presidential election.
"I don't know how [Trump] attracts all these people," he said. "They should've known better. But they were so taken by their political standing, and how none of them wanted to put themselves at political risk, they would not stand up and tell the truth, or stand up and criticize him or criticize others."
"We need people who will speak the truth, who will remember that we are here for our fellow citizens, they are here for our country. They are not here simply to be re-elected again," the former longtime Republican added. "Right now, we need you to be real Americans who we can trust, who will tell the truth, who will argue on the basis of facts, and not just argue on the basis of what their primary looks like."
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