Bush NBC Interview: Being Called A Racist By Kanye West The Worst Moment Of My Presidency

The first excerpts of former President George W. Bush's interview with NBC New's Matt Lauer were released on Tuesday night. And what stands among the noteworthy bits about Bush's political mindset in the moment of existential crises is that, for all that happened, his low point was being called racist by Kanye West.

From the interview, which will air Monday, November 8, 2010 at 8 p.m. ET on "Matt Lauer Reports" in advance of the release of Bush's book "Decision Points."

MATT LAUER: About a week after the storm hit NBC aired a telethon asking for help for the victims of Katrina. We had celebrities coming in to ask for money. And I remember it vividly because I hosted it. And at one part of the evening I introduced Kanye West. Were you watching?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Nope.

MATT LAUER: You remember what he said?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes, I do. He called me a racist.

MATT LAUER: Well, what he said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: That's -- "he's a racist." 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, and it was one of the most disgusting moments in my Presidency.

MATT LAUER: This from the book. "Five years later I can barely write those words without feeling disgust." 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 GEORGE W. BUSH: 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.

MATT LAUER: You say you told Laura at the time it was the worst moment of your Presidency?

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Yes. My record was strong I felt when it came to race relations and giving people a chance. And-- it was a disgusting moment.

Kanye West's comment -- which was made, ironically, on NBC during a telethon fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Katrina - quickly became an indelible moment of Bush's second term. And while it was obviously rare and off-putting for a rap star to insist that the president didn't care about black people, it's also somewhat unexpected that that would be Bush's personal, political nadir.

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T REMEMBER KANYE'S REMARKS, HERE THEY ARE:

Comments

[fio68]

09:36 AM on 12/26/2010

What about the 3,000 people that were murdered on September 11? Bush is the worst PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME!

[DUCKBILL1]

03:05 PM on 12/23/2010

Kanye West is a complete waste of oxygen.

[Lee West]

04:54 PM on 11/12/2010

This is just another Bushism. He wants to deflect attention from the facts of what was said by bringing in a racial comment. And he said it was among one of the worst things that happened during his presidency, not the worst.

Barbra Bush is on the record as saying something to the effect of "the (toxic) trailers and new communities that they (the blacks) now have are probably better than where they came from."

[nkannan]

09:21 AM on 11/12/2010

Watching all those Black People stranded in rooftops for days on end, with pictures of Bush flying over New Orleans watching all this, as if, if you at look at the situation from a plane, the problem is solved, was MY WORST MOMENT OF BUSH'S PRESIDENCY. Given Bush's very informed, intelligent positions on Immigration, him having served as Texas' Governor, I am still of the belief that W does not have a racist bone in his body. You may disagree with this but please go look up his stand on immigration and race from his speeches and record. That's why this was a big let down and a bit puzzling! May be it was his sheer incompetence instead of Racism!

[lvbrun]

08:42 AM on 11/12/2010

Bush has no sense of self awareness or conscience if he sees this as the "worst" moment of his Presidency.
1) What about sending our soldiers off to die in an trumped up war?
2) What about spending our surplus by giving rich people extra tax breaks?
3) What about deregulation and unprecedented deficit spending that drove our economy into the ground?
4) What about rewarding corporations that ship our jobs overseas by given them incentives and tax breaks?
5) Where is the remorse, regret and apology for your irresponsible acts?
This guy should be in jail for war crimes and lying to the American people; not on a victory lap book signing tour.

[MohammedAbbasi]

08:29 AM on 11/12/2010

Bush should have had Kayne West as VP - at least he cares.... for something....

[aflyinyoursoup]

12:59 AM on 11/09/2010

I watched the Matt Lauer/Dubya love-fest for all I could stand, about 15 minutes.
I turned it off just before ML gave GB a BJ.
It was SICKENING!

[noeasywaytosaythis]

10:58 AM on 11/09/2010

fact EXACTLY!

[yeswecanjane]

09:14 PM on 11/08/2010

Poor George Wah! Bush! Another poor pity me I'm a Republicans Mommy people are being mean to me victim wanna be!!!!! George You are one of a billions of people who live on this earth who only have a certain amount of time to live! You silver spoon living is really shining through!!!!! Look Around at all the other humans who have not one 00000000000001 % of what you have!!!!!! Again Poor George Wah! Bush!

[barefooteli]

10:04 PM on 11/08/2010

?? You're an idiot...

[aflyinyoursoup]

01:01 AM on 11/09/2010

And you are?
You have ZERO FANS.
Allow me to make that a negative one (-1)

[yeswecanjane]

10:00 AM on 11/09/2010

You are a socialist for the Upper Crust! Too Bad you are not allowed in to the "Cool kids" Party:) The first meeting that the Republicans House had was with J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sach! Then the Future Chairman for the Financial Services Comm. Rep. Spencer Bachus emailed the New Regulators over the Financial Industry to Not enforce the Volcker Rule! That the Volcker Rule will easily work to the competitive disadvantage of the U.S. Institutions and ultimately lead U.S. Firms to find ways to Game the system. So Much for Your call for NO MORE BANK BAILOUT! LOL! Pawn!

[Nikkiru]

05:40 PM on 11/14/2010

We know one thing for sure from all this:

George Bush is a much bigger crybaby than Taylor Swift.

[yeswecanjane]

08:00 PM on 11/15/2010

:) So True!

[Omar513]

01:47 PM on 11/08/2010

Honestly George Bush has been called everything from a buffoon to a war criminal by pundits, public officials, intellectuals, etc… but we are to believe the one that hurt was a random comment by a rapper he probably barely knew of before the incident. I don’t buy it; basically Kanye is as well known as ever and Bush has books to sell.

[mmonarch]

12:49 AM on 11/07/2010

There is an update to this. Kanye West said he could identify with George Bush. And that the R word is used altogether too much.

http://www.risingstarstv.net/profiles/blogs/kanye-west-reacts-to-george
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.12840/title.kanye-west-empathizes-with-george-w-bushs-on-2005-katrina-remarks

[Wanda717]

09:31 PM on 11/06/2010

If Kanye's remark was one of the most disgusting moments of presidency the he is more out of touch with what went on during presidency that I thought. I would have put the senseless war in Iraq and the economic crisis way ahead of a an entertainer's remarks.

[meridethtohayes]

07:50 PM on 11/06/2010

I see a lot of hypocrisy, stupidity or both here.
The people who scream that Bush was racist because of the bungling of the Hurricane relief efforts seem to forget the fleet of school buses available and the years of misappropriated funds re: the levies maintenance.
The same people who blamed it on Bush, are the same people who screamed that Obama "is not an oil man" re: the recent oil spill.
Are You People claiming that Bush was a "hurricane man", or are you too Steeped in Your Own Fat, Greasy Racism to understand The Truth?

[Thomas Clarke]

07:10 PM on 11/06/2010

I wonder if this tragic event - being called a racist by Kanye West - occurred before or after the authorized torture as a legitimate means of extracting information from prisoners of war.

[DeloresBrooks]

03:21 AM on 11/05/2010

Former President Bush's disgust is of his own skill of communication toward the common folks. Many African-Americans do not believe he's a racist, however, his statements and actions during the time of the hurricane appeared to be blunt and uncaring. It may not have been what he wanted to display to the people -who were devastated by such a horrible disaster. Mr. West only spoke what many Americans speak in their homes. The time used to be disgusted and defend yourself and Mr. West making the statement, proved both of your characters to be questionable. It was about the victims, not whether your racist or not. Did it truly matter? Did it stop someone from dying - really it's not about feelings. Blessings on your book.

[MagicalPossibilities]

01:25 PM on 11/06/2010

Bush is not so much racist as classist. Having been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he couldn't give a rat's behind about the 95% of Americans who are not billionaires.

[MRDMSY]

03:41 PM on 11/06/2010

Kanye really should have said, "George Bush doesn't care about poor people."

[smoovejef]

03:14 AM on 11/05/2010

They were afraid to post my previous comment; I guess the GOP taking the House has HP shaking.
Kanye West's comment's the lowest point? Two words: keep digging.