George W. Bush has unintentionally criticized the “unjustified and violent invasion of Iraq,” which he personally ordered in 2003.
The 75-year-old former US president swiftly clarified that he was referring to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
He made the blunder during a speech in Texas on Wednesday, in which he attacked Russia’s democratic system.
“Russian elections are rigged,” Mr Bush told a Dallas audience. “Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise barred from participation in the democratic process.”
“As a result, Russia lacks checks and balances, and one guy decides to conduct an entirely unjustifiable and savage invasion of Iraq.”
He then shook his head and corrected himself.
“I mean, of Ukraine,” he joked before blaming the gaffe on his age, saying “I’m 75” to the delight of the audience.
After being uploaded by Michael Williams, a reporter from Dallas News who was on the scene, video of the mistake has been viewed over 10 million times on Twitter.
The blunder was dubbed “history’s greatest Freudian slip” by social media users.
Many people have chastised the former president for attempting to make light of the 2003 crisis.
Mr. Bush was in charge when the United States launched a disastrous invasion of Iraq in response to claims of weapons of mass destruction that were never discovered.
