Former Colin Powell aide blasts GOP after Romney adviser says ex-Secretary of State is only supporting Obama because he's black

Retired Colonel John Wilkerson is a Republican who served as General Colin Powell's chief of staff
John Sununu claims Mr Powell is supporting the President's election campaign because of their shared race
Says the former US Secretary of State - who is African American - did not make decision based on policy
Poll show race for White House is racially divided with Obama supported by 80% of black and Hispanic voters but just 37% of whites
Data also shows president is struggling to connect with whites who voted for him four years ago




Colin Powell's former chief of staff publicly blasted the Republican Party and one of Mitt Romney’s top aide as racists over a controversial comment regarding Powell’s endorsement of President Obama.

Appearing on Ed Schultz's MSNBC show Friday, retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson said, 'My party is full of racists' in response to John Sununu's remark that the only reason Powell, a Republican who served as secretary of state under George W. Bush, backed the Democratic incumbent is because both men are black.

Wilkerson told Schultz that he respected Sununu 'as a Republican,' but did β€˜not have any respect for the integrity of the position that [Sununu] seemed to codify.
Outraged: Colin Powell's former chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson said the Republican Party was 'full of racists' who want President Obama out of the White House because he's black

Backlash: Wilkerson, right, appeared on Ed Schultz's, left, MSNBC show to comment on a racially charged remark made by Mitt Romney's surrogate about his former boss' endorsement of Obama
The Huffington Post reported that when the host asked the general what, if anything, Sununu's statement said about the attitudes of the GOP, Wilkerson responded by saying:

'My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people -- not all of them, but most of them -- who are still basing their positions on race.

'Let me just be candid: My Party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White house has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander-in-chief and president, and everything do with the color of his skin, and that's despicable.'

Wilkerson's harsh condemnation of the GOP comes after Sununu said he did not believe General Powell switched parties and endorsed Barack Obama because he likes his policies.