CNN's Chris Cillizza uses Colin Powell's death to lecture Republicans

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Dr. Saphier: 'Upsetting' to see Powell's death being used in COVID-19 vaccine debate

Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier says Colin Powell's blood cancer and age left him vulnerable to COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.

Within hours of Colin Powell’s death, CNN’s Chris Cillizza attempted to use his name to lecture the Republican Party.

On Monday, Powell’s family announced that the former secretary of state died from complications related to COVID-19 at age 84. He served under former President George W. Bush as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and was the first Black secretary of state.

"We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American," his family said in a statement, adding that he was fully vaccinated.

A few hours later, Cillizza published an article titled "The Colin Powell Republican no longer exists in the Republican Party." In the piece, he lambasted the GOP for pushing away from Powell’s views as a Republican in favor of the "often-intolerant views" of former President Donald Trump.

ROBERT CHARLES REMEMBERS COLIN POWELL: HE PERSONIFIED THE BEST OF ALL OF US 

Former U.S. Secretary of State and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired General Colin Powell attends the unveiling of his bust among the Circle of Firsts at the Buffalo Soldier Monument, with his wife Alma at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S. September 6, 2014. Picture taken September 6, 2014.  U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS.  THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.

"Powell's personal journey from potential -- and much-coveted -- Republican presidential candidate in the mid-1990s to pariah within the Trump-ified GOP tells the story of how the party went from one that recognized the changing face of America and the need to adapt its policies as a result to one organized around the often-intolerant views of a single man who, it's worth noting, spent less time as a Republican than Powell did," Cillizza wrote.

Cillizza also cited 2012 quote from political scholars Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein about the GOP being too extreme. 

"The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition," the quote Cillizza cited. 

"And things have only gotten worse in the intervening decade," he added. "Colin Powell didn't leave the Republican Party. It left him. And it's the worse for that decision."

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 17:  General Colin Powell attends the Build Series to discuss his newest mission with America's Promise to 'Recommit 2 Kids' campaign at Build Studio on April 17, 2017 in New York City.  (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage) (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage)

Although Powell worked under numerous Republican administrations during his career, he began to break away from the party in 2008 when he endorsed then-Sen. Barrack Obama over Sen. John McCain. Since 2008, Powell hasn't voted for the Republican presidential candidate. He stated in June 2020 that he planned to vote for then-candidate Joe Biden in the November election.

"I'm very close to Joe Biden in a social matter and in a political matter," Powell said. "I've worked with him for 35, 40 years. And he is now the candidate and I will be voting for him."

Cillizza has often been ridiculed for producing head-scratching and controversial takes for CNN. Most notably, Cillizza was one of many CNN reporters who promoted New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a potential presidential candidate for his leadership during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"There absolutely will be a chance in the future for Andrew Cuomo to consider running for president. Period," Cillizza said.

U.S. President-elect Bush (L) listens as retired General Colin Powell speaks to supporters and the press after Bush annouced Powell would serve as his Secretary of State in the his administration during a ceremony in Crawford, Texas, December 16, 2000. Powell served as Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff under former President Bush's administration. (Reuters)

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He was later mocked in January after he was forced to admit Cuomo’s pandemic response "may have been less stellar than it seemed" following the reveal that Cuomo undercounted several nursing home deaths caused by his policies.

Cillizza was also criticized for denouncing Trump’s use of the word "riots" to discuss violent unrest in cities and claiming that "Trumpism" was behind GameStop’s sudden stock surge in January.