Far-left commentator Keith Olbermann said Friday on "The View" he probably owed George W. Bush an apology based on what the country has comparatively endured with the political rise of President Donald Trump.
Olbermann called Bush a war criminal, liar, traitor and fascist during his MSNBC tenure as anchor of "Countdown," and he also called on the 43rd president to resign at the time.
However, Olbermann charges in his new book that Trump is a "psychopath." He has called the president a "fascist," "President Moron," a "deranged soulless twit," and worse on his inflammatory Twitter feed, and so he would prefer to have Bush as president instead.
Olbermann told "The View" host Meghan McCain that her father, Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.), was his favorite person in 21st century politics.
"In retrospect, based on what we've seen in the past two years in this country, I owe him an apology, I probably owe George W. Bush an apology," Olbermann said.
"Shut up," McCain said in surprise.
"And I would happily take a third term of George W. Bush rather than this. That's how serious I think it is," Olbermann said.
He said he would also accept a Mike Pence presidency in order to remove Trump from office, who he says is not stable enough to hold the job.
"Thank you for the apology to me and the Bushes. I think it is actually appreciated," McCain said.
It was a friendlier end to what began as a fierce exchange between the two pundits.
The spat began when McCain took issue with Olbermann claiming in a Twitter spat with Donald Trump Jr. that the Trump family had done more damage to America than "Bin Laden + ISIS" combined. Osama Bin Laden was the leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network and mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Why do you separate yourself from the terrorists, Dondi? You and your family have done more damage to America than Bin Laden + ISIS combined https://t.co/TaKeIP6RFt
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 2, 2017
After panelist Sunny Hostin read out the tweet, the audience applauded, but McCain appeared to be shaking with anger, saying, "the comparison is absurd."
"You think bin Laden did less damage to America than President Trump?" McCain asked.
"Yes," Olbermann said.
As Olbermann sipped from a coffee mug, McCain angrily called his rhetoric "so damaging."
"Bin Laden was dedicated to the destruction of everything that we hold dear, and our freedom," McCain said.
Hostin cut in to say some people believe Trump is also dedicated to that kind of destruction, implicitly suggesting Trump was as bad as bin Laden.
"It's not about disrespecting the troops in the slightest, or the servicemen, or your father's service, which astounds me," Olbermann said.