George Bush on Kanye West: “I’m not a hater”

DALLAS - NOVEMBER 09: Former U.S. President George W. Bush waves while signing copies of his new memoir 'Decision Points' at Borders Books on November 9, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. Hundreds of people lined up, starting Monday night, for the chance to purchase signed copies of 'Decision Points' at the North Dallas bookstore. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Last week, one of the biggest stories ended up being about Kanye West, George W. Bush, and a little incident that occurred more than five years ago. It seems that when Kanye West declared “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” during the Hurricane Katrina telethon back in 2005, it was Bush’s “all-time low”. Yes, Bush thought Kanye calling him a “racist” was the worst moment of his presidency. Hours after that revelation, Kanye responded in an atypically gracious way, telling a radio deejay that he is now sorry he said what he said, and that now he knows it was a “lack of compassion” that lead to him tearing Bush down. And now, the follow-up. Bush sat down for yet another exclusive with Matt Lauer this morning on the Today Show, and Bush explained how he and Kanye are now buds and that he (Bush) is “not a hater.”

George Bush says he and Kanye West have patched things up. After Bush, 64, bashed West, 33, in his new book for once calling him a racist, he said on the Today Show Wednesday that he has “absolutely” forgiven the rapper.

West “stopped by to see me yesterday,” Bush said. “He seems to have changed his tone rather dramatically.”

West famously declared on the 2005 televised Concert for Hurricane Relief, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” blaming him for the reason that America helps “the less well-off as slow as possible.”

When Today’s Matt Lauer showed Bush a tape of West’s rant, Bush said, “I appreciate that. It wasn’t just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina. I cited him as an example. I cited others as well. I appreciate that.”

But he stressed that they have both moved on.

“I’m not a hater,” the former president said. “I didn’t hate Kanye West. I was talking about an environment in which people were saying things that hurt. Nobody wants to be called racist if, in your heart, you believe in equality of race.”

[From Us Weekly]

So now it’s over. And Bush and Kanye can be buds now. You know what’s remarkable? I actually think Kanye apologized to Bush, and that he meant it, and I think Bush probably also truly “forgave” Kanye. They probably are buddies now.

Funny story though – Kanye now is a Matt Lauer hater. Kanye ranted about Lauer for a half an hour this morning – go to Kanye’s Twitter for the whole thing, here’s a portion:

kanye2

kanye1

Ugh. I can’t even with Kanye this morning. This is just an FYI: Matt Lauer is officially a HATER.

One last thing – did everybody see this? Bush really wanted to endorse Obama, but he only endorsed McCain because he “had to”. UPDATE: Bush denied this. Well, his spokesman denied that he would have endorsed anyone but McCain, but he didn’t deny that he told British journalists that he would have endorsed Obama.

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Rapper, writer and director Kanye West attends the 'Runaway' New York premiere at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema on October 21, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

DALLAS - NOVEMBER 09: Former U.S. President George W. Bush talks with fans while signing copies of his new memoir 'Decision Points' at Borders Books on November 9, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. Hundreds of people lined up, starting Monday night, for the chance to purchase signed copies of 'Decision Points' at the North Dallas bookstore. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

DALLAS - NOVEMBER 09: Former U.S. President George W. Bush talks with fans while signing copies of his new memoir 'Decision Points' at Borders Books on November 9, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. Hundreds of people lined up, starting Monday night, for the chance to purchase signed copies of 'Decision Points' at the North Dallas bookstore. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 21: Rapper, writer and director Kanye West attends the 'Runaway' New York premiere at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema on October 21, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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63 Responses to “George Bush on Kanye West: “I’m not a hater””

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  1. Tess says:

    I don’t believe Bush is a hater. And I do believe the media and popular culture have been exceedingly unfair to him.

    But, his graciousness is an outstanding quality, and in time his record will be better understood.

  2. tiki says:

    let the bush bashing begin. it’s going to be high school 2.0 in a few minutes when people do the in, cool thing and gang-bash w. what’s that sound i hear in the distance? yup. the bleating of sheep.

  3. Just a Poster says:

    Oh great now they are friends? Does this mean that Kanye will be visting my part of the World to have cook outs at the Ranch?

    Great.. Like we dont’ have enough interesting folk here in Central Tx.

    Tess I agree. And Tiki very well said.

  4. guesty says:

    that necklace…wth? only in kanye’s world…lol.

  5. Hautie says:

    I could believe that Bush did not want to endorse McCain.

    I suspect after McCain tossed ole’ George under the bus a few times during that election… Bush would have ran him over the that same bus if he could have gotten away with it.

    As I have stated before. This is a vindictive man who can hold a grudge. Forever.

    And any slight assy thing McCain said about Bush will forever be remember.

    Bush will make it a point to get even. Like telling a group he would have endorsed Obama.

    Just so the comment will make it back to McCain.

  6. Henriette says:

    I’ll give Bush this – most Presidents are actually petty little b*tches who carry grudges for decades but he just makes up and moves on. Good for him.

  7. fancyamazon says:

    For me the saddest thing is that a person who is supposed to be “Mr President” until he dies has said the word “hater” on national television. Bush was an awful president for the people of the United States for a lot of reasons, but the biggest thing for me was something that he shared with Clinton (who in other ways was much better), is that they felt like they needed to appear to be a “common man”. The leader of the most powerful country in the free world should not be a common man.

    /not American
    //Canadian, what Americans do affects us too

  8. Diane says:

    I think Kanye just needs someone to hate at all times.

  9. tiki says:

    fyi, in response to fancyamazon, the oath of the u.s. president is to faithfully execute his/her duties as president and to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the united states. that’s the criterion for determining the success or failure of a president. our constitution stands. bush did his job. clinton did his job. obama is now doing his job.

  10. Obvious says:

    @Diane I agree. what would Kanye do if the world suddenly got along? his ego might shrivel up a die-then the world would rejoice.

  11. SoulLovah says:

    …I can’t tell who is using who to stay relevant and promote sales for his product…

  12. Angela says:

    @Tess: He will consistently place in the top five worst presidents ever. That is his legacy. For the American people, his legacy is a surplus turned into a huge deficit, two wars and a further eroding of our trust the government can do anything right. That’s pretty devastating for a country to believe that.

  13. Angela says:

    @tiki – Patriot Act, torture, increase in executive powers, our constitution tilted under Bush and I still hope Obama will restore it to its proper balance.

  14. Eileen says:

    @Dianne ITA-he embroils himself in whatever drama is going on because he is the center of his universe so everything is about him. If he has nothing, he’ll create it -al la Taylor Swift

  15. Pusskat says:

    Bush admits he sanctioned waterboarding. Is that the sign of someone who isn’t a hater? Anyway, Kanye is a nutbar egomaniac and totally irrelevant on the political scene. He should learn to STFU.

  16. Johnny Depp's Girl says:

    ohhh ****raspberry*** boo.

    WTF ever.

  17. lucy2 says:

    That’s very nice they were able to apologize and move on, but I have to say, I find it distressing that of all the things that happened during Bush’s presidency, THAT was his lowest moment. The man was president on 9/11, for heaven’s sake.

    I think Kanye has some serious issues and seriously could use some therapy – he needs another outlet besides twitter, because that’s not helping him.

  18. original kate says:

    oh for god’s sake – can we please retire the word hater now? it has almost surpassed “bling” as the most annoying slang of the decade.

  19. icantbelievethis says:

    I get what GWB was saying and it is nice that Kanye apologized and they’ve moved on. Some people call any Conservative or Republican a racist. I can’t count how many times I heard “you must hate blacks” during the last election when I said I wasn’t voting for Obama.

    It is amusing to picture Kanye and GWB hanging out.

  20. Moreaces says:

    Oh, now really George, Lets see, on your watch, there was 9/11, Katrina, The collaps of our financial system, high rate of unemployment,,two freaking wars, where as thousands of people losts their life, and more maimed. And some dorky rapper calls you out for what you are, and that was the lowest point in your presidentcy,, You have got to be shetting me,

  21. anti says:

    that sort of necklace has been in every thrift store everywhere… how weird.

  22. Cleo says:

    How does Kanye just “drop in?” like to former POTUS’s dorm room? Look closely, George Bush is wearing a Super Awesome outfit. Everyone should get a suit and tie like that for Christmas.

  23. fancyamazon says:

    @ tiki

    I understand what you are saying, but it isn’t about just electing someone adequate. This person is going to represent the country world-wide, and I think it’s sad that people want to elect anyone that has the persona of a good ol’ boy. Was not saying that they didn’t fulfill the job requirement at all, more about the type of people that run for office because they feel they are good choices to represent the country. Don’t worry, we’re getting our share of them too north of your border, and I am noticing that too.

  24. Lucinda says:

    I’m not surprised at all that he said that about McCain. At the time of the elections there was a lot of speculation about Bush’s endorsement because it was widely known how much he disliked McCain. But, the Republican Party pays the bills so he had to endorse McCain whether he wanted to or not.

  25. MissyA says:

    They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. . . but I hate that little weasel just as much as I did in 2000. Ratfink scum.

    That goes for Dubya as well. 😉

  26. texasmom says:

    I am pretty sure history isn’t gonna improve Dubya’s standings!

  27. Bobby the K says:

    Bush/Cheney, Rove, et. al.
    Deserve all the hate they get.
    They worked hard and lied a lot to earn it.

  28. Tia C says:

    They should be buds – they are birds of a feather. They are both spoiled, over-privileged, under-educated idiots.

  29. oh_mr_grey says:

    The CokeHead & the Douche!

    (Laura can read it to Bushy-Boy as a bedtime story!)

  30. Str8Shooter says:

    @Tiki: Did you ever stop and actually LOOK at GWB’s record while he was in office, before you whine about ‘Bush-bashing’? This moron practically bankrupted our once-prosperous country, read a children’s book UPSIDE-DOWN while 9/11 happened and did NOTHING but sit there like a fool waiting for someone to tell him what to do…started two wars and pretty much IGNORED Hurricane Katrina.

    Then, he says his ‘lowest point’ was what some jackass self-important rapper has to say about him?

    Sorry. He deserves all the ‘bashing’ he is getting.

  31. Crittle says:

    Seriously…This has got to be up there with one of the most bizarre feuds. Rapper vs President. Then they’ll be friends and Kanye will produce GWB’s solo rap album.

  32. Praise St. Angie! says:

    yeah, it takes a really gracious man to call someone a “major league asshole” on an open mic. oh, I’m sorry…did I say “gracious”? I meant “clueless”.

    Str8Shooter, I love me some Bush bashing as much as the next guy, but the upside-down book thing was photoshopped, FYI. but the deer-in-the-headlights look when he was told what happened was absolutely real. as was his decision to NOT hurry out of there and continue with reading the book while a couple of major US cities were under terrorist attack.

    and LMAO at all of his supporters (DUHbya himself included) that INSIST that “history will show” that he was one of the greatest presidents of all time. not bloody likely.

  33. kim says:

    According to gossipcop US weekly made a mistake Matt said Kanye met with Matt not that Kanye met with Bush

  34. skibunny says:

    I find it hard to believe this idiot was ever a President of the United States. Buddy was a complete f%&king moron!!!

  35. lio says:

    After being president, some decide to go on in the political field, trying to make peace in the Middle east. Some decide to become advertiser for cause they believe in, like the protection of the Earth. Some decide to become an Humanitarian.
    And then there is W.

  36. Jeri says:

    Bush and Kanye are the perfect pair, they belong together.

    Bush admits his word mean nothing, he’ll say whatever is requested.

  37. Anti-icon says:

    OK, this is so funny. King George can only get attention for his “memoir” on a gossip blog–cause buying off NBC wasn’t enough. Lamestream media rewrites history of American War through Image Campaign for American’s Dumbest Home Video.

    Satan has arrrived. The axis of evil is: George Bush, Dick Cheny and Donald Rumbsfeld.

    Congrats guys, you’ve made the tabloids. ; )

  38. icantbelievethis says:

    weird

  39. icantbelievethis says:

    “yeah, it takes a really gracious man to call someone a “major league asshole” on an open mic. oh, I’m sorry…did I say “gracious”? I meant “clueless”.”

    So is President Obama clueless as well? Didn’t he call Kanye a ‘jackass’?

    “as was his decision to NOT hurry out of there and continue with reading the book while a couple of major US cities were under terrorist attack.”

    If he was in a class with my kids I would’ve wanted him to react the way he did. Why scare a bunch of kids? What could he have done? If he had jumped up and walked out right then what would have happened differently?

    As for the economy, there are MANY to blame for the mess we are in and that includes Democrats and Republicans as well as other factors.

    I can’t be objective about the war. My husband was one of the first ground troops and the mental images of what he described seeing will never go away (can’t imagine what it is like for him). He had to clear execution chambers that had electrocution chairs, chemical chambers. He worked with an Iraqi who didn’t have ears. Sadam’s soldiers had gone to this Iraqi’s house when he was a child and killed his entire family and cut off his ears. All I know is that my husband was against the war and didn’t like GWB before he was deployed. When he came home he had completely changed his opinions. GWB did do alot to improve the pay, conditions for soldiers and their families from my viewpoint. I am sure other military families have a different opinion, I can only speak for what I experienced or was told.

  40. tiki says:

    @icantbelievethis, thank-you to you and your husband for your service to our country. god bless you.

  41. Praise St. Angie! says:

    the difference, if you care to read the entire thread here, is that I never called Obama “gracious”. someone referred to Bush as “gracious” up above, and I don’t consider him to be gracious. to add, “clueless” referred to the apparent fact that Bush had no idea that if you speak into an open mic, what you say will be amplified.

    In any case, Obama IS NOT THE SUBJECT OF THIS THREAD. again with the deflection!

    who knows what would have happened differently? All we know is what DID happen, and what DID happen is that Bush looked completely scared, and gave the impression that he cared more about reading a book to schoolchildren than he did about what what was happening in NYC and DC/VA.

    he could have very diplomatically extracted himself from that room and, frankly, I don’t give a rat’s ass if some kids he was reading to got “scared”. there were a lot more important things to worry about that day…and scaring some kids should have been the least of his priorities. The point is that that moment was a perfect example of his “what do I DO, Daddy?” state of mind.

    “All I know is that my husband was against the war and didn’t like GWB before he was deployed. When he came home he had completely changed his opinions.”

    it’s great that your husband served and I am appreciate of those who do, but you DO realize that there are just as many soldiers who went over to fight and feel exactly the OPPOSITE? as in, they believed in the war when they went over there, but while there became disillusioned with the strategies and the decision to go to war in the first place.

    all of what you say about Iraq and what Hussein did is horrible, but Iraq HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ATTACKS ON 9/11. that was a war that should have never been started. there are horrible human rights abuses that occur in many countries around this world, including ones who we’re allegedly allies with. should we invade all of those countries to “liberate” all of those who are being abused? why iraq and not China? or North Korea? or Egypt? or Saudi Arabia? no, we’ll just ignore their human rights abuses until we need to send some of our prisoners there to be tortured in secret CIA prisons (rendition)…you know, since the US doesn’t torture. (except for waterboarding.)

    “GWB did do alot to improve the pay, conditions for soldiers and their families”

    exactly the opposite, actually, he CUT health benefits for veterans while in office. (as well as funding for housing for military families, health benefits for National Guard members, funding for educating children of military personnel, the pay for active duty personnel in Iraq, etc…) but don’t let the facts confuse you.

  42. Str8Shooter says:

    Praise, you couldn’t have hit the proverbial nails on the head harder if you tried!

    Bush & Co. did EVERYTHING they could to strip benefits from veterans…present and past…while at the same time, had no regard for the countless lives which were lost and families destroyed all so he could avenge his Daddy’s failure back in ’91 over in Iraq…and get his fatcat buddies at Halliburton richer in the process.

    This man tore this country apart, and yet still the SHEEPLE will believe he is their Savior.

    Amazing how uninformed people are in this country!

  43. Kim says:

    Obama will beat Bush by a landslide for title of worst Presidents ever.

  44. Kim says:

    I never liked Kanye but it does sound like he was honestly sorry for saying what he said about Bush and apologized. It takes a big man to realize your mistakes & apologize.

  45. Moreaces says:

    @skibunny
    I find it hard to believe this idiot was ever a President of the United States. Buddy was a complete f%&king moron!!!
    ===============
    I want to know why is he not on trail for war crimes.

  46. Marjalane says:

    No, Bush did not want to endorse the man child for President; This has been refuted over and over today. I look forward to how you all expect the Obama administration to be looked back upon…we’ll know when he becomes a private citizen again in 2012.

  47. daisy424 says:

    Former President George W. Bush is denying a report that he once said he would have endorsed Barack Obama in 2008 if the Democrat had asked.

    “This is ridiculous and untrue,” Bush spokesman David Sherzer told POLITICO. “President Bush proudly supported John McCain in the election and voted for him.”

  48. Kitten says:

    Haaaa! @PraiseSt.Angie, you’ve been on fire lately! Preach it, sistah!

  49. skibunny says:

    How do any of you expect any president at this time to fix the problems happening in the US and please everyone in such a short period of time? Obama was served a shitfest when he came into office. Scary times people. Better to try to work together than fight about who would do a better job. The US is never going to be the same.
    (I still wonder how nine guys with boxcutters took down the towers.)

  50. icantbelievethis says:

    “it’s great that your husband served and I am appreciate of those who do, but you DO realize that there are just as many soldiers who went over to fight and feel exactly the OPPOSITE?”

    Please learn to read what I said before flipping out and being so aggressive. I specifically said that I wasn’t objective, that I was coming from MY viewpoint and I even said that other soldiers and families have a different opinion.

    Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day and it is nice to know that some will trample all over someone expressing their experiences as a military spouse supporting a Veteran. Good Job!

    @tiki thank you! Your comment was very nice.

  51. di butler says:

    This comment about it being “the lowest point of his presidency” was taken completely out of context. Shame on those who didn’t watch the entire interview. They had already fully discussed Katrina and 9/11, and were talking about the mean and nasty things people say. The internet sucks sometimes because reactionary idiots will say anything without reading or watching the necessary materials before making assanine comments.

  52. Praise St. Angie! says:

    “Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day and it is nice to know that some will trample all over someone expressing their experiences as a military spouse supporting a Veteran.”

    uh, that’s a bit of stretch, ain’t it? considering I specifically said I appreciate those who serve? but OH! how you’ve been wronged!!!

    I didn’t “trample” anything, but way to play up the drama and ignore the more important points I made about the war, the reasons for going, the man who made the decision to go, and the cutting of veterans’ benefits. Good job!

  53. Whatever says:

    and LMAO at all of his supporters (DUHbya himself included) that INSIST that “history will show” that he was one of the greatest presidents of all time. not bloody likely.

    ===============

    Exactly. Only in their revisionist history, like the way they are trying to pin the economy and the clusterf*ck that caused this mess on Obama. Um, he wasn’t president then morons. But, people are stupid and voted the party that crashed the country back in last week. Whatever.

  54. icantbelievethis says:

    “I didn’t “trample” anything, but way to play up the drama and ignore the more important points I made about the war, the reasons for going, the man who made the decision to go, and the cutting of veterans’ benefits. Good job!”

    I never said GWB was one thing or another. I simply stated what I’d been told/seen and was upfront that it was my viewpoint. I wasn’t spouting/disputing FACTS, just sharing what I went through.

    I didn’t say I voted for him/didn’t vote for him. I did say I didn’t vote for Pres. Obama (didn’t say I voted for McCain though). And I said the economy is lots of peoples fault (in my opinion).

    You jumped all over what I clearly said was just my opinion with your ‘facts’. Except I wasn’t disputing any facts, just sharing something experiences and even adding in that my experiences aren’t the same as others. I didn’t address your points b/c I wasn’t addressing them to begin with.

    And yes I did play up the drama. I only did that b/c your reaction to my comment was so over the top. You acted like I said GWB solved world hunger, peace and invented sliced bread.

  55. Nanea says:

    The Shrub may not be a hater, but he’s a liar.

    He’s written things in his book that are not true, e.g. saying the German chancellor had promised to support his invasion of Iraq. Or the fact that the waterboarding he mandated helped prevent terrorist attacks in Great Britain.

    I’m pretty sure that more lies will come out eventually.

    And not only did he and his buddies ruin the US economy but his spending caused the global crisis, so I am pretty sure GWB will end up near the bottom of the list of former presidents. The rest of the world will see to that.

  56. Emily says:

    Anyone wanting to get drunk:take a shot every time Kanye says “very”.

  57. jc126 says:

    Yes, the German chancellor is quite the hater. Lol.
    I don’t miss Bush AT ALL.

  58. fancyamazon says:

    @ skibunny The problem is that people expected Obama to come in with his great ideas and change everything overnight. This cannot happen. Administration and changes to administration move very slowly, and changes to the economy take a long time to actually make a difference once things are bad. So they blame Obama, and will vote in another Republican next time, saying that the present President didn’t fix things. It happens here too, and it’s a shame.

  59. Raven Sparrow says:

    I’m not american but I’ve always wondered and have to ask : Why in the world was W. re-elected??? No, seriously, why?

  60. Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

    @fancyamazon: I live in Toronto, which means our new mayor is an intemperate ex-con thug who thinks the best way to curtail pollution is to get rid of half of the city’s stop signs. And his first official interview? It was on CBC Radio, it was supposed to be about five minutes long, and he wasn’t paying attention because he was yelling out instructions to the football game he was coaching. THEN, he cut THEM off partway through. You don’t get any more ‘common’ than that. I won’t type the words I’m thinking, but we are profoundly screwed.

  61. Tess says:

    With George Bush what you saw was what you got. He was pure in motive and unabashed in his love for America.

    He is also smart, sure enough of himself to be self deprecating, and gracious. Sterling characteristics that will be increasingly appreciated, as they say, in the fullness of time.

  62. Cheyenne says:

    @Raven: A British newspaper asked that exact same question.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/doublygifted/1513993/

  63. Lisa A says:

    Why do celebrities think we care about their political opinions? Most of these people live in a bubble- their lives are not like ours.
    I am sick and tired of hearing these idiots use their 15 minutes to promote their liberal social agenda’s.
    If you guys want to do something for the less fortunate- why don’t you do something meaningful, and give them all your money? I would listen to you then. Instead i see you all walking around with $5k Gucci purses, Harry Winston jewels, and Chanel dresses. Pitiful.
    Kanye- just because some idiot is willing to pay you to “rap” pure trash does not mean that you have a brain.
    We don’t care what you think.
    Guess you know that now don’t you.