Retired four-star general and Secretary of State Colin Powell<\/a> will be voting for former Vice President Joe Biden, saying they are close on social and political issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be speaking for him but I don\u2019t plan to make campaign trips,\u201d he told CNN.<\/p>\n

Mr. Powell<\/a>, who served under Republican Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, said President Trump \u201clies\u201d and the people have let him get away with it.<\/p>\n

He said there is currently disdain for American foreign policy everywhere in the world and the country needs to get on top of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to all come out of the White House without consultation,\u201d Mr. Powell<\/a> said. \u201cThis is not the way the system is supposed to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson, who has been an ally of the president since Mr. Trump became the GOP nominee in 2016, refused to criticize Mr. Powell<\/a> and stayed above the fray.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t get into demonizing other people. I would much rather talk about policies and solutions,\u201d Mr. Carson told CNN. \u201cHe is certainly entitled to his opinion and the way he wants to conduct himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president, though, did not hold back, taking to Twitter to call Mr. Powell<\/a> a \u201cstiff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cColin Powell<\/a>, a real stiff who was very responsible for getting us into the disastrous Middle East Wars, just announced he will be voting for another stiff, Sleepy Joe Biden. Didn\u2019t Powell<\/a> say that Iraq had \u201cweapons of mass destruction?\u201d They didn\u2019t, but off we went to WAR!\u201d Mr. Trump tweeted.<\/p>\n

He then added that Mr. Powell<\/a> should be reminded of his administration\u2019s achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody please tell highly overrated Colin Powell<\/a> that I will have gotten almost 300 Federal Judges approved (a record), Two Great Supreme Court Justices, rebuilt our once depleted Military, Choice for Vets, Biggest Ever Tax & Regulation Cuts, Saved Healthcare & 2A, & much more!\u201d the president also tweeted.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time Mr. Powell<\/a> has sided with a Democratic presidential candidate. In 2008, he endorsed Democratic then-Sen. Barack Obama over the GOP nominee, Sen. John McCain, and in 2012, Mr. Powell<\/a> backed then-President Obama in his reelection bid against Republican Mitt Romney.<\/p>\n

In 2008, Mr. Powell<\/a>\u00a0criticized<\/a> the McCain campaign\u2019s \u201cinappropriate\u201d negative tone. Four years later, Mr. Powell<\/a>\u00a0questioned<\/a> Mr. Romney\u2019s foreign-policy stance, calling it a \u201cmoving target.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Valerie Richardson contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n