Bush says one of the worst moments of his presidency was that time Kanye West was mean to him
Former President George W. Bush (rarely one for considered self-reflection) says he once identified the worst moment of his presidency as the time Kanye West said, "George Bush doesn’t care about black people" on television. Speaking to Matt Lauer for an interview to air during next Monday’s Today show, Bush was there to promote his new book Decision Points, which revisits the "tough moments" of his eight years of office—a tumultuous era that saw 9/11, the beginnings of two still-ongoing wars, the onset of the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression, Hurricane Katrina, Abu Ghraib, Alberto Gonzales, and even that time Dick Cheney shot his friend in the face. Yet Bush still named Kanye West calling him out on TV as an “all-time low” in terms of the many criticisms levied at his administration, and characterizes it as “one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency.” (Do you, perhaps, take issue with that? Bush’s response: “Don’t care.”) Here’s an excerpt (via Ken Tucker)
“He called me a racist,” Bush tells Lauer. “And I didn’t appreciate it then. I don’t appreciate it now. It’s one thing to say, ‘I don’t appreciate the way he’s handled his business.’ It’s another thing to say, ‘This man’s a racist.’ I resent it, it’s not true.”
Lauer quotes from Bush’s new book: “Five years later I can barely write those words without feeling disgust.” Lauer adds, “You go on: ‘I faced a lot of criticism as president. I didn’t like hearing people claim that I lied about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction or cut taxes to benefit the rich. But the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low.’
President Bush responds: “Yeah. I still feel that way as you read those words. I felt ‘em when I heard ‘em, felt ‘em when I wrote ‘em, and I felt ‘em when I’m listening to ‘em.
Lauer: “You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your presidency?”