Politics
Referring to the war in Ukraine, Bush mistakenly calls Iraq invasion 'unjustified'
"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,” Bush said, before correcting himself. "I mean, of Ukraine"
May 19, 2022 9:53am
Updated: May 19, 2022 10:10am
While speaking at an event in Dallas, former President George W. Bush on Wednesday mistakenly described the 2003 invasion of Iraq as “brutal” and “unjustified” before correcting himself and saying he meant to refer to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking in Dallas this afternoon, former President George. W Bush made a significant verbal slip-up while discussing the war in Ukraine.
— Michael Williams (@michaeldamianw) May 19, 2022
He tried referencing what he described as the “wholly unjustified and brutal invasion” — but said Iraq, instead of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/tw0VNJzKmE
"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,” Bush said, before correcting himself. "I mean, of Ukraine."
Falling back on his classic charm, the Texas Republican jokingly blamed the slip on his age, causing the audience to burst into laughter, Reuters reported.
Bush led the historic invasion of Iraq while serving as president in 2003, claiming that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was in possession of weapons of mass destruction.
The former president’s remarks quickly went viral across social media and the video of the event obtained more than three million views on Twitter after it was tweeted by a Dallas News reporter.
