George W. Bush: Kanye West Calling Me Racist Was a Disgusting Moment

Former President George W. Bush says that one of the most "disgusting moments" during his presidency was when Kanye West said he didn't "care about black people."

In his first one-on-one interview since leaving the White House, Bush tells NBC's Matt Lauer that he still resents West for his comments during the Hurricane Katrina telethon in 2005. West went off-script and said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
"That's — 'he's a racist.' And I didn't appreciate it then. I don't appreciate it now," Bush said. "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."

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Bush also wrote about the incident in his new book, Decision Points, saying that among the criticism he faced as president, "the suggestion that I was racist because of the response to Katrina represented an all-time low.

"Lauer told Bush that he may receive heat for saying that. "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," Lauer said.

Bush said: "No — that— and I also make it clear that the misery in Louisiana affected me deeply as well. There's a lot of tough moments in the book. And it was a disgusting moment, pure and simple."

Matt Lauer Reports airs Nov. 8 at 8/7c on NBC.