'I am happy the witch is dead': California prof calls ex-first lady Barbara Bush 'amazing racist'

Former US first lady Barbara Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92, triggering an outpouring of praise for the matriarch of a Republican family once at the apex of American politics.

But a university professor in California has sparked a social media uproar after calling Barbara Bush an “amazing racist” who raised a “war criminal,” and saying she’s “happy the witch is dead.”

According to the Foxnews, Randa Jarrar, an author and professor in the English department at California State University, Fresno, made the comments just an hour after the death of the former first lady was announced.

“Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal. F*** outta here with your nice words,” the professor tweeted.

In honor of Bush´s life, President Donald Trump ordered that the US flag be flown at half-staff until sundown on the day she is buried, at all public buildings and grounds, as well as military posts and vessels.

Bush has long been considered the rock at the center of one of America´s most prominent political families, as the wife of a president and the mother to another -- George W. Bush -- and to Jeb Bush, a former Florida governor and onetime presidential aspirant.

She first met her husband-to-be at the age of 16 when she was a schoolgirl and he was a student at an elite preparatory school in Massachusetts.

They married in 1945 while he was on leave from wartime service as a naval officer. The couple had six children.

As first lady, from 1989 to 1993, she embraced the cause of universal literacy, and founded a foundation for family literacy.

Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum to honor her life. Trump hailed her as an "advocate of the American family."

"Amongst her greatest achievements was recognizing the importance of literacy as a fundamental family value that requires nurturing and protection," Trump said.

"She will be long remembered for her strong devotion to country and family, both of which she served unfailingly well."

Web Desk/AFP