On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of one of the saddest events in the history of our country, 11M, RTVE has published the reaction of journalist Lorenzo Milá to the interview he did with the president of the United States at that time (George W. Bush) and his wife.
”That was very heavy, it was amazing,” the journalist said as soon as he started watching images and remembering how the interview that RTVE never broadcast in its entirety was created. In the video, the communicator explained to the audience that it was the American politician’s team that contacted them and that, after presenting their condolences for the victims of the attack, they offered an exclusive interview to the Bush couple.
Milá has said in the audiovisual space that, due to his nervousness and how quickly things happened, he did not notify more Spanish media nor did he try to hold a press conference or general interview. The degree of improvisation was so great that the interviewer was shocked to discover that the interview would have an audience and that both the Spanish diplomatic team and most important figures of the ‘Bush Government’ would be present.
One of the first questions the journalist asked was about the president’s opinion about the event that had shaken Spain. ”I remember when our citizens lost their lives (due to 9/11). I remember the horror, the indignation, the rage and the incredible sadness. So I guess I feel the same today,” the Republican party leader responded.
In the piece, Lorenzo Milá highlighted how strange it was for the couple to give a joint interview, but he justified the presence of Laura Bush with the idea that they sought to reinforce the message of encouragement to the Spanish people and give it a touch of feminine warmth.
”I believe that the people of Spain are going to unite around those who have lost their lives,” Bush said, convinced of the great social response of the Spanish people to the attack by terrorists who ”hate freedom.”
After listening to Bush’s words about terrorism again, Milá has acknowledged that at the time he did not realize that he was referring so clearly to Islamist terrorism and not to ETA. When Milá asked the interviewee what advice he would give to the government in dealing with such a catastrophe, Bush limited himself to praising Aznar: ”The Spanish people are lucky to have José María Aznar (…) he is a man who “understands the war against terrorism (…) the government must remain strong.”
As the communicator has now explained, Bush’s testimony makes it clear that he had not believed Spain’s main theory and that he thought that 11M was not an ETA thing. ”I should have had the ability to say ‘man, president, we don’t have to get into speculation, but just the fact that you are here today with the first lady already sends a very clear message, right?”’ .
In the reflection that the TVE journalist has launched, Lorenzo wanted to make it clear that he was very surprised to see how our country preferred not to broadcast the interview and he told what he thought: ”How the government has taken with such conviction the path of authorship of ETA, they will not be interested in being friends of Bush at this time.”
Finally, Milá wanted to record before the cameras that no one told him what he had to ask, something that he values ??very positively, since he believes that in the United States there is freedom of the press much greater than that of other countries in the world. world.
