What To Know
- Jenna Bush Hager recalled how she and her twin sister, Barbara, used to prank call their grandfather George H.W. Bush’s vice presidential office.
- Bush Hager recalled how the prank calls got them in trouble with their parents.
- Bush Hager recently shared how her grandparents convinced her to interview for her role on Today.
While Jenna Bush Hager has shared many fun stories about her time as one of the first daughters of the United States, she just recalled a funny memory from her grandfather’s time in the White House.
Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones got into a conversation about prank calling on the Wednesday, July 8, episode of Today With Jenna & Friends. “Prank calling is so fun. Did you ever prank call?” Bush Hager asked Jones, who replied, “Oh my gosh. Of course.”
Bush Hager went on to share that she and her twin sister, Barbara Bush, were once “very close” to being “spanked” by their parents after getting in trouble for prank calling an important political figure: her grandfather, George H.W. Bush.
“Barbara and I, we were 5, and we kept prank calling the vice president’s office. And we were like, ‘Where’s da pwesident?’ And they were like, ‘What is happening?’” she revealed. “And my parents came home, and we were actually at a friend’s house — I don’t know how we got the number — and my parents were so mad at us. We kept calling my grandpa’s office over and over again being like, ‘Blah, blah, blah, pwesident,’ and hang up.”
Bursting into laughter, Jones stated, “That is hilarious.”
Based on Bush Hager’s story, her and Barbara’s prank calls occurred while George H.W. Bush served as the vice president to former President Ronald Reagan. He succeeded Reagan and became the president in 1989.
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Following Bill Clinton‘s time in office, Bush Hager’s father, George W. Bush, became the president in 2001. Bush Hager and Barbara served as the first daughters of the U.S. until his two terms ended in 2009.
Bush Hager has opened up about her family both on and off the small screen. During a May episode of the Las Culturistas podcast, Bush Hager revealed that she and Barbara cried when their dad shared his intentions to run for president.
“We said, ‘You’re going to ruin our lives,’ which we’ve apologized about,” she quipped. “We told him he was going to lose. We were like, ‘Fine, you’re gonna lose! You can run, but you’re gonna lose!’ I think what it goes to say is we had parents that wanted us to have a normal life. When Barbara and I walk on the street in New York, people are like, ‘We love y’all. Y’all are so normal.’ And that, I think, is a compliment.’”
On the May 21 episode of Jenna & Sheinelle, Bush Hager shared that her grandparents, including former first lady Barbara Bush, convinced her to join Today after she had previously turned down interview offers.
“My grandmother said, ‘You always take the meeting. I don’t know why you’ve said no for two years, but you always go take that meeting,’” she explained, adding, “My grandpa goes, ‘Do you watch it?’ I go, ‘No. I go to school at 6:30 in the morning.’ He said, ‘Let’s watch it,’ and the three of us sat and watched it together.”
Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10 am, NBC