Jenna Bush Hager reveals dad George W. Bush said he doesn’t watch her ‘dumb show’

Jenna Bush Hager is vetoing this hot take.

The “Today with Jenna & Friends” host, 43, shared on “Today” that viewers may not see her father, former President George W. Bush, on her morning talk show anytime soon.

Since Hoda Kotb left “Today” in January, Bush Hager has had a series of rotating guest co-hosts on.

Bush, 79, meanwhile, recently appeared on Peyton and Eli Manning’s “ManningCast” show on Monday.

Despite his zoom cameo, the former POTUS has yet to come on his daughter’s show as a co-host.

Jenna Bush Hager poses in front of her morning show segment sign.NBC

George W. Bush on the “Manningcast” show.Eli Manning/YouTube

George W. Bush appears from zoom on Eli and Peyton Manning’s “Manningcast” show.Eli Manning/YouTube

“I’ve actually asked him, and maybe I’ll do a public ask for him to come and be a ‘friend’ since he’s my father,” Bush Hager confessed on Wednesday.

Her co-hosts pointed out that Bush doesn’t really make television appearances, to which the journalist replied: “Well, he said he was retired so I was surprised as anyone to see him on Monday night.”

Savannah Guthrie said that Bush didn’t have to leave the comfort of his own home for his “ManningCast” appearance. However, to come on his daughter’s show, that requires a trip to the Big Apple.

“Why don’t you go to Texas and do the show from there?” Al Roker asked.

Bush Hager said she didn’t think “Jenna & Friends” had that type of budget.

“I feel like for a former president we could find it,” Craig Melvin quipped.

Jenna Bush Hager and George W. Bush on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager on “Today” in March 2025.Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

She responded: “Okay, I’m sure he’ll still say no. He says things like, ‘I don’t watch your dumb show.’ ”

The “Today” co-hosts erupted in laughter, with Carson Daly adding: “That’s why we love him!”

Despite Bush not wanting to come on the NBC program, his daughter has had quite a few family members join her in the past.

Bush Hager’s husband, Henry Hager, twin sister Barbara Bush Pierce, and many cousins all made appearances.

In March, Bush Hager’s mom, former first lady Laura Bush, joined Bush Pierce for a special sit-down.

In 2018, Bush Hager also interviewed her father and grandfather, George Bush Sr., for the “Today” show.

Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager, George W Bush and Laura Bush on Tuesday, April 20, 2019 on “Today.”NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

In 2021, President Bush came on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” during a segment on immigration.

“Mom and I are very proud of your independent views,” President Bush told his daughter while on air. “You take time to understand issues, and you’re not afraid to speak your mind.”

Bush Hager hasn’t shied away from sharing family conversations with the public over the years.

In October, she recounted a Christmas Eve dinner at the Bush family home that brought her mom, 79, to tears.

“My dad was like, ‘You a–holes!’” she said at a Midi Health event at the time. “We couldn’t believe it. We looked at him, and he said, ‘Your mom’s going through menopause; go and apologize.’ ”

Bush also supported his daughter following the news that Kotb, 61, was departing the show.

“I don’t know if you’re embarrassed to say this or not, but I think you should,” Kotb told Bush Hager earlier this year. “You called your dad. And I remember when we first started working together you were afraid.”

Bush Hager recounted talking to her dad when she replaced Kathie Lee Gifford as Kotb’s co-host on the 10 a.m. hour show on “Today” in 2019.

“I called my dad when I started. He said, ‘I’m so happy for you — and Hoda’s the star. You’re gonna be okay with that, right? You’re gonna be okay with sharing the spotlight with the star?’” Bush Hager said.

“I said, ‘Yeah. Of course.’”

Bush Hager then revealed that she reached out to the ex-Commander in Chief to talk through Kotb leaving the show.

“I called him last night. First, he thought something really awful [happened], like a lost loved one, because of how emotional I was,” she revealed. “And he said, ‘Oh, she’s leaving cause it’s time and you’re gonna be fine. It’s your turn. It’s okay.’”

“It’s your turn. It’s your turn,” she recalled him saying. “And whoever sits in this seat is going to have the easiest job in the world cause they’re sitting next to you. The only thing they have to do is not laugh so hard they pee their pants. That’s it. They just have to hang on.”