Five years after Kanye West accused former president George W. Bush of not caring about black people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Bush is still mad about it. In fact, he calls it “one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency.” Maybe he wasn’t paying close enough attention to all the other things going on during those eight years?
In an interview with NBC teevee host Matt Lauer about his new book, Decision Points, Bush says, “[West] called me 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.”
OK, just because policies that Bush and his administration enacted or supported worked overwhelmingly against the interests of many people of color and the poor doesn’t mean Bush himself is a racist. I’ll give him that. But why are we supposed to care that he’s upset about a pop star who insulted him? And why does Bush care so much about what a pop star thinks? It’s not like West ever interrupted one of his speeches.
At any rate, today West called into a Houston radio station to say peace up to the ex-prez. He sounded wise and mature!