Colin Powell, a retired four-star general who served as secretary of state under George W. Bush, said Tuesday he will vote for Hillary Clinton in this year's presidential election.

Powell made his endorsement official at the Long Island Association's fall luncheon, according to several reporters who were in attendance. His endorsement was little more than a formality at this point in the race. Emails that were leaked last month showed Powell calling Donald Trump a "national disgrace" and saying Trump's "birther" campaign to discredit Obama's presidency was "racist."

Powell told the Long Island trade group that a Trump presidency would set the country back 50 years, according to The New York Times, which quoted anonymously a person who was in the room for Powell's address. Boom. Colin Powell says he will vote for Hillary Clinton. Says will serve w/ distinction and cites experience and stamina

— Robert Brodsky (@BrodskyRobert) October 25, 2016 Gen. Colin Powell has announced to @LongIslandAssoc that he will be supporting @HillaryClinton for POTUS

— Paule Pachter (@PaulePachter) October 25, 2016 Colin Powell is apparently over being annoyed with Clinton -says at Long Island Association he plans to vote for her, and condemns Trump.

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 25, 2016 Clinton, though, has given Powell his fair share of headaches during this campaign season, particularly concerning her use of a private email server to conduct government business while she was secretary of state.

Clinton has maintained that what she did is no different than Powell, her predecessor. While Powell used a private email address, he did not host it on a server in his home, as Clinton did. "I didn't tell Hillary to have a private server at home, connected to the Clinton Foundation, two contractors, took away 60,000 emails, had her own domain," Powell said in the emails leaked last month.



Powell has called the numerous investigations into Clinton's handling of an attack on an American compound in Benghazi, Libya, a "stupid witch hunt."

"Benghazi is a stupid witch hunt," he said in those emails. "Basic fault falls on a courageous ambassador who thoughts Libyans now love me and I am ok in this very vulnerable place."

