The current and two former Presidents of the United States (POTUS) had gathered today at the Washington National Cathedral to mourn for former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Politicians in Washington, regardless of their party affiliation, also came to attend the funeral.

AFP reported that U.S. President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Powell’s widow Alma sat together at the front row, to commemorate the pioneering African-American figure. Powell served in four administrations in his career and won the respect of people from all over the world.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that Powell “almost transcended time, for his virtues were Homeric: honesty, dignity, loyalty and an unshakable commitment to his calling and word”.

After Powell passed away, former President Donald Trump, a critic of Powell, did not attend the funeral today. Trump had previously accused Powell of supporting the U.S. war in Iraq.

Powell passed away on October 18 due to complications of COVID-19 at the age of 84. Although he was fully inoculated with Pfizer/BNT vaccine before his death, he suffered from rare blood cancer multiple myeloma and Parkinson's disease, and was quite weak.

Powell was born into a family of Jamaican immigrants in New York. Although he was not a graduate of the top West Point Military Academy in the United States, he succeeded in his career in the military. In 1989, he became the first African-American Joint Chief of Staff in American history. In 2001, he became the first African-American Secretary of State.

Important figures in American politics, regardless of party affiliation, expressed their deep condolences on his passing. All of them avoid mentioning the act he most regretted, which was his 2003 presentation to the UN security council laying out the alleged U.S. evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which turned out not to exist, and that he advocated the launch of the second Gulf War against Iraq.