Stephen Colbert roasts George Bush after Ukraine speech gaffe
‘That is a refreshingly lighthearted confession to war crimes,’ late-night host said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Stephen Colbert has mocked George W Bush after the former US president’s gaffe during a speech in Dallas.
On Wednesday (18 May), Bush accidentally condemned the “brutal” and “unjustified” invasion of Iraq, before correcting himself to say he meant the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the electoral process. 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... I mean of Ukraine,” Bush said, before laughing off the blunder and blaming his age.
He also appeared to say “Iraq too” under his breath, in what some have interpreted as a joke.
On his late-night talk show, US comedian and TV host Colbert addressed the verbal snafu, describing it as a “Freudian slip”.
“Jiminy Christmas,” Colbert said. “The one phrase he should definitely never utter for the rest of his life! It’s like he’s thinking about it all the time and it just popped out.”
“Thankfully, Dubya caught himself and did a quick course correct,” he continued, before playing the portion of the clip in which Bush said: “Iraq too.”
“Iraq too? That is a refreshingly lighthearted confession to war crimes,” he said. “I guess we should call of the search for the WMDs at this point, somebody owes Saddam Hussein an edible arrangement.”
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky fared much better during his own speech at the opening ceremony for Cannes film festival this week.
Zelensky appeared by video link at the opening event for the 75th annual event at the Palais des Festivals on Tuesday (17 May).
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Speaking from Kyiv as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, Zelensky told the attendees that it is “necessary for cinema not to be silent”.
In his speech, which was translated live into French, Zelensky told filmmakers that they couldn’t be complacent and stand by as war raged.
He also quoted Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 film The Great Dictator, saying: “The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments