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WATCH LIVE: KFOR-TV's local coverage of Okla. tornado tragedy
updated 11/3/2010 12:12:27 PM ET 2010-11-03T16:12:27

Former President George W. Bush says one of the "most disgusting" moments in his presidency took place in 2005 — when rapper Kanye West criticized him at a Hurricane Katrina benefit.

West, 33, infamously declared on the televised Concert for Hurricane Relief, "George Bush doesn't care about black people," blaming him for the reason that America helps "the less well-off as slow as possible."

Poll: Kanye West is more influential than President Obama

In a Nov. 8 "Matt Lauer Reports" primetime special on NBC, Bush (now promoting his new book) says though he didn't watch the telecast, he still heard what West said.

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"He called me a racist," Bush tells Lauer.

Photos: Kanye West and other dudes with bad 'dos

When Lauer clarifies that West said, "'George Bush doesn't care about black people,'" Bush says, to him, that means "'he's a racist.'"

"And I didn't appreciate it then. I don't appreciate it now," Bush goes on. "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 was one of the most disgusting moments in my presidency."

Memoir: Bush considered replacing Cheney as VP

NBC's Matt Lauer will sit down with President George W. Bush in his first one-on-one television interview since leaving the Oval Office. The interview will air Monday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. ET as a special primetime “Matt Lauer Reports.” President Bush will then join Lauer live on TODAY on Wednesday, Nov. 10.

Copyright 2012 Us Weekly

Video: George W. Bush: ‘I gave it my all’

  1. Closed captioning of: George W. Bush: ‘I gave it my all’

    >>> he was not on the ballot this year, but former president george w. bush was certainly on the minds of some voters yesterday.

    >> now he's ready to speak out about his years in office. recently i traveled to texas to talk to the former president, his first interview since leaving the house and i talked to him about what others view about his time in office. here's what you write, i believe it's impossible to reach definitive conclusions about my presidency or any recent presidency for that matter for several decades. isn't that the purpose of a book like this to either cement perception or change perception?

    >> kind of. but the main purpose of the book is to have a starting point, not a starting point, a data point for future historians. this may seem strange to you, i really don't care about perceptions at this point in time. i served, i gave it my all and i'm a content man. and the book has been part of the transition process to private life and it's a way for me to put the reader in the environment in which i had to make decisions.

    >> and our conversation covers a lot of those key decisions . we talk about 9/11, the wars in afghanistan and iraq, hurricane katrina , enhanced interrogation techniques, the financial crisis . we're going to have more of our interview with president bush next week, it's a one-hour prime time special, "decision point". that's next monday at 8:00, 7:00 central time right here on anbc. and then he'll be live in our studios next week. he seems to really be in a good place in life. he seems to be completely at peace with his surroundings.

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