Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al-Zaidi became famous in 2008 for throwing his shoe at then-U.S. President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, expressing his anger over the corruption and chaos that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003—an anger that still lingers with him today. He pointed out that "the same people who entered with the occupier 20 years ago are still ruling despite failures and corruption. The United States knows well that it brought in fake politicians."
Bush, who was standing alongside then-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, managed to dodge the shoe thrown at him from inside the room. Al-Zaidi said before being removed by security, "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people… you dog." Bush had faced criticism in the Middle East for his decision to oust Saddam Hussein, an action based on faulty U.S. intelligence suggesting that the Iraqi president possessed weapons of mass destruction.
At the time, the U.S. president dismissed the shoe-throwing incident, saying, "It's like going to a political rally and finding people yelling at you. It's a way to get attention." Al-Zaidi spent six months in prison for assaulting a visiting head of state. After his release, he moved to Lebanon but returned to compete for a seat in the Iraqi parliament in 2018 to combat corruption; however, his electoral attempt was unsuccessful.
He expressed bitterness as he witnesses the suffering of people 24 hours a day. He added that he continued his campaign against corruption and has never regretted the shoe-throwing incident. He said that the act was a testament that an ordinary person was once able to firmly say "no" to that arrogant person, despite all his power, tyranny, media, wealth, and authority, and tell him he was wrong.
