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You Are a 'National Disgrace': One Part of GWB's 9/11 Speech Sparks Outrage

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  September 14, 2021 7:00 AM

George W. Bush was blasted as a “national disgrace” for comparing “domestic extremists” to Islamic terrorists during his remarks on the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11.

"We have seen growing evidence that the dangers to our country can come, not only across borders, but from violence that gathers within," Bush said in a speech at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home," he continued. "But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit."

"And it is our continuing duty to confront them," Bush added.

Though he remained vague in his language, it was clear Bush was referring to the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.

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While liberal media outlets like CNN praised the speech as “really notable” and MSNBC called it a “truly incredible speech,” conservatives on social media were disgusted. 

Speaking on Fox News's Tucker Carlson about the speech, journalist Glenn Greenwald explained why liberals, who absolutely despised Bush, are now offering “effusive praise” for his speech. 

“What [Bush] said there is that essentially the 9/11 attacks…are the same as the three-hour riot on Jan. 6 and more importantly, that the people who did 9/11—al Qaeda, are ... of the same ‘foul spirit’ as he put it as Trump supporters essentially and they ought to be treated the same,” Greenwald noted. “A war on terror against al Qaeda—now a domestic war on terror against your fellow citizens is music to the ears of American liberals because they want nothing more than a new domestic war on terror, than treating their political adversaries like the Bush administration treated al Qaeda.”

“It’s such a lunatic and extreme thing to say,” Carlson replied.