Bush: Kanye West Katrina Comment 'Disgusting'
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Lisa Flam Contributor
AOL News(Nov. 3) – George W. Bush says one of the "most disgusting moments" of his presidency came when Kanye West said Bush didn't care about black people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
"He called me a racist," the former president told NBC News for the "Matt Lauer Reports" program that will air Monday night, according to excerpts released by the network.
"And I didn't appreciate it then. I don't appreciate it now," Bush, 64, told Lauer. "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. And it was one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency."
Bush was responding to West's comment during a live telethon in the wake of the devastating storm that struck Louisiana and Mississippi in 2005. "George Bush doesn't care about black people," said the 33-year-old black hip-hop artist.
Lauer read from Bush's soon-to-be-released book, "Decision Points": "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."
"Yeah. I still feel that way as you read those words," Bush said. "I felt 'em when I heard 'em, felt 'em when I wrote 'em, and I felt 'em when I'm listening to 'em.
Lauer notes that Bush told his wife, Laura, at the time that it was the worst moment of his presidency.
"Yes," Bush said. "My record was strong, I felt, when it came to race relations and giving people a chance. And it was a disgusting moment."
President George W. Bush tours a devastated neighborhood in Biloxi, Miss., with Kim Bassier, left, and her sister Bronwynne Bassier on Sept. 2, 2005.
Lauer says to Bush: "You're not saying that the worst moment in your presidency was watching the misery in Louisiana. You're saying it was when someone insulted you because of that."
"No, and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well," Bush responds. "There's a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment, pure and simple."
In another passage from the book, according to The New York Times, Bush wrote that he considered dropping Dick Cheney from his 2004 re-election bid to dispel the vice president's image as the "Darth Vader" of the White House and to "demonstrate that I was in charge."
The book is due out next week, but the Times obtained a copy on Tuesday.
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George Bush(43) made PLENTY of mistakes but being a racist wasn't one of them.
I detest people like Kanye West using race to promote an agenda. He's just a spoiled little brat that was trying to get some attention.
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No, there were some white people affected by Katrina that Bush didn't care about, either, so I don't know if I'd go so far as calling him a 'racist', but I definitely think he is an 'elitist', and since the destruction mainly affected poor and disenfranchised people, he wasn't in such a rush to fix it.
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That whole disaster was…."a disaster".
Ray Nagin was a totally incompetent Mayor of New Orleans at the time. How could you not evacuate the poor and underprivileged residents knowing this monster was coming. And he's black to boot!
Kathleen Blanco was a pathetic governor before Katrina. A state has to ask for federal help and she just sat there with her thumb up her arse.
George Bush was slow to respond because there was no oil reserves at stake...lol ;D He was too busy defending two costly and futile wars in the middle east!
William Jefferson was more worried about the bribe money in his freezer than he was his constituents.
My point being if you look at this at any level of government you'll see how little they care about basic human rights, regardless of the letter by their name. So to have a punk like Kanye West make a statement like that was frustrating.
I wonder how many "underprivileged" people he has personally helped?
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The whole exchange with him and Mike Myers was cringe-worthy. And like you said, there was plenty of incompetence in the way that situation was handled. It wasn't mandated from the President alone. Certainly a low point in our nation's history. sigh
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Sometimes you never know how much something (or someone) really sucks until the time comes down for serious action to be taken.
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GWB is a homophobe, but not a racist.
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GWB is a homophobe, but not a racist.
:true:
Are there gays in Texas or have they banned us there too… :rotfl:
One good gay bj and I'm sure good ole Laura Bush would be but a distant memory...lol ::)
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I detest people like Kanye West using race to promote an agenda. He's just a spoiled little brat that was trying to get some attention.
Totally agree. His 'Taylor Swift' antics confirmed what an obnoxious prick he is.
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Totally agree. His 'Taylor Swift' antics confirmed what an obnoxious prick he is.
Now there's a nunderstatement lol
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It fascinates me that the low point of the Bush presidency was a derogatory comment by Kanye West.
Not starting two wars (one without reason or provocation), not torturing people, not wiretapping without a court order, not starting secret prisons in various countries which were not subject to the rule of law, not holding prisoners indefinitely without trial, not killing thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, not failing to intervene adequately to relieve a major natural disaster, not placing incompetents in important offices for political reasons, not starting a war of hatred against gays (including outlawing gay marriage in nearly every American state), and not completely destroying the world economy.
The low point was being accused of racism by Kanye West.
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…The whole exchange with him and Mike Myers was cringe-worthy...
I love the look on Mike Myers and Chris Tuckers faces after Kanye said it….just priceless. :rotfl:
Here's the clip if you haven't seen it.
hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIUzLpO1kxI
