A Freudian Slip for the Ages: George Bush Accidentally Speaks the Truth, Calls Iraq Invasion ‘Unjustified’

It only took about 20 years and it was entirely accidental, but George W. Bush has finally spoken the truth about the post-9/11 invasion of Iraq he orchestrated while president.

While giving a speech in Dallas, Texas, Bush spoke of “the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq—I mean Ukraine.”

Bush played it off with his trademark chuckle, mumbling with a shrug, “Iraq, too” and telling the audience, “I’m 75,” which got a huge laugh but that doesn’t change the fact that Bush’s incredible slip-up was 100% the truth.

On a recent episode of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver made note of how hypocritical it is for Bush to be condemning Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine for being “unprovoked and unjustified,” given that that is an accurate description of Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in the name of nonexistent weapons of mass destruction.

“Hold on, George. Not from you. You are not the guy for this one,” Oliver said back in February after showing a clip of Bush’s comments on Ukraine, “because that statement only would have made sense if it ended with ‘Oh shit, now I hear it. Sorry. I’ll shut the fuck up now.’”

I think this is the closest we’re going to get to that level of awareness.

(image: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Author

Close

Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

twitter