Kanye West surprised fans when he said he can relate to George W. Bush's anger about being labeled a racist. INSIDE EDITION has the scoop.
"I feel his pain." That's Kanye West's surprising response to former President Bush going after him in his new book.
"I definitely can understand the way he feels to be accused of being a racist because the same thing happened to me. I got accused of being a racist," said West in a radio interview.
Bush told Matt Lauer that the low point of his presidency was the moment Kanye West condemned his response to hurricane Katrina on a nationally broadcast telethon in 2005, saying, "George Bush does not care about black people."
You could see Bush's anger rising as he discusses the comment with Lauer, saying, "He called me a racist."
Lauer said, "Well, what he said was 'George Bush doesn't care about black people.' "
Bush replied, "That's saying 'he's a racist.' I didn't appreciate it then and I don't appreciate it now. 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's one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency."
In a new interview with a Houston radio station, West refers to his headline-making interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV awards.
"With both situations, it was basically a lack of compassion that America saw. With him, it was a lack of compassion with him not rushing down to New Orleans. With me, it was a lack of compassion of cutting someone off in their moment," said West.
West says it's "poetic justice" that he ended up accused of being racist, just like Bush was, saying, "Now I really connect more with him on a humanitarian level because that next morning, the next morning when he felt that, I felt that same thing too."
In the interview with Matt Lauer, Bush admits that controversial photo of him flying over New Orleans immediately after Katrina made him look "detached and uncaring."
Speaking about 9/11, Bush says the much-criticized measures he took to prevent more terrorist attacks have proven effective.
"We didn't have an attack. 3,000 people died on September 11 and I vowed that I would do my duty to protect the American people and they didn't hit us again," said Bush.
Bush also addresses his fondness for alcohol in his younger years, recalling a dinner party at the family vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine. A friend of his mother's was present, and an inebriated Bush asked the guest, "What is sex like after 50?"
Bush says there was "total silence. And not only silence, but serious daggers" from Bush's mother and his wife Laura.
