George Bush Forgives Kanye West

Maybe everyone can just get along after all: George W. Bush says he "absolutely forgives" Kanye West for calling him out five years ago.

Bush, who recently called West's comments after Hurricane Katrina the lowest moment of his presidential reign, appeared on Today to discuss the incident. Matt Lauer told the former president that West had "stopped by to see me yesterday. He seems to have changed his tone rather dramatically."

He then played a tape from an upcoming interview with the rapper. "I would tell George Bush I didn't have the grounds to call him a racist," West says in the interview. "We, as human beings, don't always choose the right words." Bush seemed to take the apology in stride. "I appreciate that," he said. "It wasn't just Kanye West who was talking like that during Katrina. I cited him as an example. I cited others as well. I appreciate that."

West, who told a radio station that he felt for Bush, used his own incident with Taylor Swift to show that he understood Bush's feelings. The former president seemed equally open to the idea of establishing a friendly rapport. "I'm not a hater. I didn't hate Kanye West," Bush said. "I was talking about an environment in which people were saying things that hurt. Nobody wants to be called racist if in your heart you believe in equality of race."

Unfortunately for West, his interview with Lauer seems to have kicked up a fury. The rapper took to Twitter Tuesday night to express his distress at his treatment on the show. "I don't trust anyone but myself! Everyone has an agenda. I don't do press anymore. I can't be everything to everybody anymore," he said. "I feel very alone very used very tortured very forced very misunderstood very hollow very very misused." West claimed that the show manipulated him by playing his MTV VMA's moment below him as he tried to answer questions. "HE TRIED TO FORCE MY ANSWERS. IT WAS VERY BRUTAL AND I CAME THERE WITH ONLY POSITIVE INTENT," he tweeted. –AMY LEE