Jenna Bush Hager Says Dad George W. Bush Told Her He Doesn’t Watch Her ‘Dumb Show’

“I Don’t Watch Your Dumb Show” — Former President Bush Brushes Off Daughter’s Pleas to Join Her Morning TV Gig

Jenna Bush Hager is America’s sweetheart to many—bubbly, sharp-witted, and daughter of a former U.S. president. But even Today Show charm and national fame aren’t enough to get George W. Bush out of retirement and onto her NBC talk show.

During a candid moment on Today with Jenna & Friends, Hager, 43, revealed that her father flat-out refuses to co-host with her—calling her program, in his own words, “your dumb show.”

“I’ve asked him multiple times,” she told her co-hosts. “And I’ll do it publicly now. Dad, come on and be a ‘friend.’”

“But he always says the same thing: ‘I’m retired. I don’t watch your dumb show.’”

The remark—delivered with Bush family dry humor—landed with laughter from her fellow hosts, but it raised some eyebrows among Republican viewers who remember President Bush’s no-nonsense approach to post-White House life.

The apparent slight came just days after George W. Bush made a surprise virtual appearance on ESPN’s ManningCast with Peyton and Eli Manning. The 79-year-old dialed in live from his art studio in Texas, joking about football and retirement.

“I was surprised as anyone to see him Monday night,” Bush Hager noted. “He claims he’s done with media… but then shows up for Peyton and Eli.”

Co-host Savannah Guthrie chimed in, pointing out that Bush didn’t even have to leave his house for the ManningCast cameo. “He’d have to fly to New York for your show,” she said, prompting Al Roker to suggest they take Today with Jenna on the road.

“Why not go to Texas and do it from there?” Roker said.

“I don’t know if we’ve got the budget for that,” Jenna replied.

“For a former president? We could find it,” added Craig Melvin.

Bush Hager has hosted more than 58 guest co-hosts since Hoda Kotb stepped away earlier this year. While her mother Laura Bush and twin sister Barbara Bush Pierce have graced the set, her father has remained a no-show.

This isn’t for lack of history. Bush has previously appeared with his daughter for high-profile interviews, including one alongside Kathie Lee Gifford and a segment on immigration in 2021. He even joined Jenna and her late grandfather, George H.W. Bush, for a memorable family special in 2018.

But 2025 is different.

With Donald Trump back in the White House and legacy media taking heat from conservative voices, Bush Hager’s role as a mainstream TV figure hasn’t escaped scrutiny from right-leaning fans who view the Bush family as increasingly disconnected from the populist base.

“President Bush has always marched to his own beat,” one former RNC strategist told Patriot Post. “But the optics of refusing your daughter’s show while logging into ESPN with celebrity athletes during Trump’s second term—it’s a little tone deaf.”

While Jenna Bush Hager leans into warmhearted human-interest stories, cultural segments, and pop interviews, her father has spent retirement painting, staying out of politics, and maintaining quiet ties to bipartisan causes.

Some conservative critics argue that by avoiding shows like his daughter’s—seen as part of the “coastal media machine”—Bush is distancing himself from the liberal-leaning entertainment sphere.

“I think he’s being a classic Texan,” Hager said. “He just wants to be in his studio, with his dogs, avoiding cameras.”

Still, fans are holding out hope for a father-daughter reunion on-air. For now, though, it seems unlikely.

“He’ll never say yes,” Jenna laughed. “But I’ll keep asking—on TV, in texts, at Thanksgiving. It’s a campaign at this point.”