The Tuesday memorial service for police officers killed by a sniper during a protest in Dallas last week was an appropriately somber affair, with President Barack Obama telling those assembled not to despair or conclude that the cycle of American violence is inevitable and unbreakable.
The event included a rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” an especially poignant choice considering its lyrics are set to the music of “John Brown’s Body,” Brown being a fervent 19th-century abolitionist who believed that only armed rebellion could end slavery, ultimately hanged for raiding a federal armory. The song became an anthem for the Union during the Civil War and invokes biblical judgment for the wicked.
But somehow, it seems as if no one ever told George W. Bush that. The former president smirked and swayed to the marching tune while his wife Laura Bush and First Lady Michelle Obama, obliged to hold his hands, looked as if they might explode from sheer embarrassment. Oof.
People wasted no time ripping into Obama’s predecessor for what many saw as his less-than-appropriate demeanor.
https://twitter.com/onekade/status/753056123075395584
Chewbacca. Pokemon. Canadian Tenor. Trump is wrong.
— Boner Vivant (@Doug_Tilley) July 13, 2016
Dancing Bush. Ghostbusters. I can’t take it anymore
Please God set me on fire.
Dancing on stage at a funeral George Bush is by far my favorite George Bush.
— Davon (@davonmagwood) July 13, 2016
https://twitter.com/mmschwartz/status/753237048849489920
https://twitter.com/billclunie/status/753235184380555266
https://twitter.com/Courthansenn/status/753244383387017216
The incident all but overshadowed Bush’s own speech, widely praised by conservatives.
https://twitter.com/JasonEmert/status/752986506504048640
But let’s be honest—Bush’s herky-jerky moves always did have a way of stealing the spotlight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PUFUVkjEUw
You know how they say to dance like nobody’s watching? Pretty sure this dude invented that.
