Jenna Bush Hager Recalls Begging George W. Bush Not to Run for President: ‘You’re Going to Lose’
The 'Today' show host said she and her twin sister Barbara burst into tears when their father told them he was launching a bid for the White House
Mark Wilson/Newsmakers
Jenna Bush watches her father, George W. Bush, get sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 2001Jenna Bush Hager was initially against the idea of her father, George W. Bush, running for president.
While discussing Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s latest book on Today with Hoda and Jenna, the morning show host, 42, talked about how she reacted differently than Jackson's children when she was alerted that her parent was eyeing a higher office.
“[Jackson] writes about when she was on President Obama’s short list to become a possible Supreme Court judge. She and her husband sat their daughters down and said, ‘Listen, this is going to change your life and I just want to make sure…,’ ” Bush Hager said.
Guest co-host Sheinelle Jones chimed in, “That you guys are okay with it, because everybody goes into a deep dive about their family, and privacy.”
Bush Hager responded, “Yes! ‘And I want to make sure I have your support.’ And they said, ‘Yes, mom. This has been your dream, you’ve manifested this. We believe in you.’ ”
Bush Hager then noted that she had a “similar story” with her twin sister, Barbara, and their father — but their reaction to the news that George was running for president was anything but supportive at the time.
“Unfortunately, when I was 16, my father sat my sister and I down and said, ‘Now listen, we really want your support, I’d like to run for president.’ [Barbara and I] broke down in tears," she recalled.
“As only twins can do, we cried in unison,” she continued. “We said, 'No!' We said, ‘You’re going to ruin our lives, Dad.’ And then we said, ‘And even if you run, you’re going to lose!’ ”
Jones jokingly added, “Well that didn’t happen.”
“Well… came close," Bush Hager added. "But anyway, we went after him, and since then as an adult, we publicly apologized. That was horrible.”
Related: Jenna Bush Hager Shares Bush Family Selfie amid Holiday Celebrations: 'Wonderful Christmas'
Bush Hager previously opened up about navigating life in the public eye as a first daughter in a 2023 exclusive interview with PEOPLE, saying that “everything changed” when her father was elected, which made it tough for her and her sister, who “just wanted to be normal college kids."
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However, she also noted that that she was ultimately thankful that her parents gave her a "pretty normal childhood" and "the grace to fail," especially during their father's presidency.
"I had parents that really supported us and never made us feel bad about mistakes that we made," Bush Hager shared. "But yeah, it wasn't easy. And yet I'm so thankful for all of it."
"I think the world was expecting us to be perfect, even though our parents did not, which is the absolute best blessing that they could have ever given us," she added. "The freedom to just be ourselves and to make mistakes. Because I don't know how I would be a mother without having the grace to fail."
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