Newsman: When condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Former president George W. Bush mistakenly referred to the decision to launch an “unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq” before quickly correcting himself to say “Ukraine,” in what was a bungled criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Social media detractors quickly pounced, with many referring to the snafu as a “Freudian slip.”
Former president Bush made the comment in a speech at his presidential center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas on Wednesday during an event examining the future of American elections.
After recognizing his mistake, Bush said, “I mean of Ukraine” before pausing and saying under his breath, “Iraq, too.” Bush then added: “Anyways, I’m 75,” prompting the audience to chuckle in response.
“The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq,” said Bush, before catching himself and shaking his head. “I mean — of Ukraine.”
The gaffe came as Bush was denouncing Vladimir Putin at an event on election integrity at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on Wednesday.
“In contrast, Russian elections are rigged,” Bush told a crowd, per The Dallas Morning News. “Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the political process. The result is the absence of checks and balances in Russia and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq.”
George W. Bush also spoke highly of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “The way countries conduct elections is indicative of how their leaders treat their own people, and how nations behave toward other nations,” Bush said. “And nowhere is this on display more clearly than Ukraine.”
After and during his presidency, Bush has been criticized for the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Bush announced an invasion of Iraq during his first term as president in 2003, citing the country and Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. The country was also believed to be harboring members of al-Qaeda in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001. The war lasted until 2011 and claimed the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. troops and more than a million Iraqis.
On Twitter, the reaction to Bush’s inadvertent reference to the most polarizing decision of his administration was mixed, as users revived criticism of his decision to invade and sarcastically riffed on his history of such slip-ups.
