I never thought I'd say this, but I have never been happier to see George W. Bush — in the form of Will Ferrell's always amazing take on the former president. Will Ferrell resurrected his George W. Bush impression during Samantha Bee's Not The White House Correspondents' Dinner special on Saturday night and it was perfect. Ferrell jumped back into the wig and Texas accent of Bush for a 12-minute set filled with reflections on the former president's two terms in the early aughts to ruminations about President Donald Trump and the current state of politics.
"History's proved to be kinder to me than many of you thought it would," Ferrell-as-Bush told the audience during the special, according to Fast Company. "I was considered the worst president of all time — that has changed. I needed eight years, a catastrophic flood, a war built on a lie, an economic disaster–the new guy needed 100 days."
Of course, he's referring to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War, and the 2008 financial crisis. As you know, Ferrell's Bush impression (known to many as "Dubya," referring to Bush's middle initial) became a staple during his time as a cast member on Saturday Night Live during the 2000 Presidential election and beyond — you know, that other turbulent time in American politics with a hotly contested election.
In February, Trump announced via Twitter that he would not attend this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner and, instead, is spending the night speaking at the 100th Day Rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Ferrell's Dubya jokingly compared Trump's well-documented strained relationship with the press to that of Bush during his 2001-2007 terms in the White House. "I'll be honest, I never liked you guys in the press," he told the audience. "You guys would always sneak up on me with 'gotcha' questions like, 'Why are we going to war?' Gotcha! 'Why did you not respond to Hurricane Katrina?' Gotcha! 'What is your middle name?' Gotcha. I just wish someone would've told me that all you have to say is 'fake news' over and over again."
Ferrell's Bush even empathized with journalists of the Trump era. "I don't know why anyone would become a journalist now," he said during his set. "It's like being on the Titanic in this room. The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Boston Herald — the iceberg is coming and you guys are hanging on to your journalistic integrity, playing the violin as the ship goes down."
The real life Bush is now a painter, who has recently published a book of portraits, so of course Ferrell's Dubya also broke out a new painting: it was of Trump, of course.
All in all, Ferrell's segment was a great way to cap the first 100 days of Trump as president.
