When it comes to whether George W. Bush will ever appear on Today With Jenna & Friends, it’s a matter of when, not if.
Jenna Bush Hager has led the fourth hour of Today with several famous guest hosts since Hoda Kotb exited the show in January. However, her father has yet to appear on the revamped series. On the show’s Monday, October 6, episode, Justin Sylvester revealed that the former president came close to making his Jenna & Friends debut earlier this year.
“One time, you were calling your dad because you wanted him to come on the show. You wanted him to be phoned into the show. And he goes, ‘Let’s get this party started!’” Sylvester shared. “And I said, ‘Wait, hold a minute. Hold a minute, George.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go! Let’s get this party going!’ And it was the cutest thing. I had never heard your dad ever before.”
The live phone call didn’t end up happening, but Bush Hager was happy about her father’s willingness to participate. “Usually, he says no,” she stated.
Though Bush has not appeared on Jenna & Friends, he has joined Bush Hager on Today a handful of times over the years. While filling in for Kotb on a February 2017 episode of Today With Kathie Lee & Hoda, Bush Hager called out her dad for not tuning in to the NBC morning show on a regular basis.
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“Do you watch Jenna on the show every day?” Kathie Lee Gifford asked, to which Bush replied, “No.” Bush Hager retorted, “Dad! You’re supposed to say yes! Remember last night? You do watch me some.”
When Bush Hager asked if he was embarrassed by her on-air behavior, Bush replied, “No. I’m very proud of you.”
Bush Hager took over for Gifford on the fourth hour of Today in 2019. Two years later, Bush joined his daughter and Kotb for a sit-down interview on Today With Hoda & Jenna. “Did you ever imagine that this would be where she would be at this moment in her life?” Kotb asked the former president in April 2021.
Bush answered, “You know, Hoda, there’s a lot of things I never imagined. I never imagined she would be a star, and we’re very proud of her and love her. I never imagined I’d be president.” Poking fun at her dad, Bush Hager quipped, “Neither did Mom.”
Bush also played a part in Kotb’s 60th birthday celebration on Today in August 2024. During the special episode of Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager surprised her then-cohost with a special homemade present from her father.
“This is something that I hope you can hang in your new home,” Bush Hager said on Hoda & Jenna. “I had my dad, who has started painting, paint your favorite photo of you holding your girls.” (Kotb shares her daughters, Haley, 8, and Hope, 6, with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.)
The sentimental artwork brought both Kotb and Bush Hager to tears. “Oh no! It’s too much,” Bush Hager exclaimed as Kotb wiped away tears.
Today With Jenna & Friends, Weekdays, 10 a.m. ET, NBC