Keith Olbermann said Friday he "probably owes George W. Bush" an apology during a testy defense of a tweet claiming President Donald Trump did more damage to America than Osama bin Laden and ISIS "combined."
The tweet triggered a tense exchange between Olbermann and co-host Meghan McCain during the ABC News daytime show, "The View," including McCain's exasperated demand that Olbermann "shut up."
The discussion began with another View co-host, Sonny Hostin, asking Olbermann if he believed his Thursday tweet.
"Yeah, we did really well after 9/11," he said. "I don't think that the country has given itself enough credit," he said. "We did not restrict all the freedoms in this country. We did not single out people."
"Three thousand people died on 9/11," McCain interjected. "The comparison is absurd."
"But more people died in the Iraq War than died in 9/11," he insisted. "We didn't need to be there as a response."
"You think bin Laden did less to damage America than President Trump?" asked McCain.
"Yes," Olbermann again declared.
"Can I tell you something? When I hear rhetoric like that, I think Whoopi [Goldberg] and I are in agreement that we want Americans to come together. Rhetoric like that is so damaging." McCain responded.
"The Iraq War was a waste of these people's lives," Olbermann insisted. "And it was unnecessary."
"Do you want President Trump to fail?" McCain pressed. "Do you want America to fail? Because I'm genuinely curious."
After a commercial break, Olbermann offered Bush an apology, whom he called a war criminal, fascist and liar on multiple occasions on his former MSNBC program, "Countdown."
"My favorite person in politics in the 21st century is your father," Olbermann said to McCain, the daughter of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"In retrospect, based on what we've seen over the last two years in this country, I owe him an apology," Olbermann said. "I probably owe George W. Bush an apology, and I would happily take a third term of George W. Bush rather than this. That's how serious I think this is."
"Shut up," McCain said.
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