Colin Powell's death: The end of an era for moderate Republicans?

WASHINGTON – Colin Powell established a legacy in national defense and foreign policy, but politically he was one of a dying breed: a moderate Republican.

The rise of Donald Trump completed a decadeslong estrangement for Powell from the Republican Party, a distancing that began not long after the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff turned down a bid to seek the GOP presidential nomination in 1996.

Although he served as secretary of state for President George W. Bush, Powell – like other GOP moderates – began to drift away from the base's more aggressive tenor.

Over the years Powell became increasingly critical of the party's plans to cut government programs, mount an aggressive foreign policy, promote divisive social issues like opposition to abortion, and, most of all, follow Trump.