‘Emotional’ Jenna Bush Hager called dad George W. Bush crying about Hoda Kotb leaving ‘Today’
Jenna Bush Hager cried to her dad, George W. Bush, after learning that Hoda Kotb is leaving “Today.”
During of “Today with Hoda and Jenna,” the pair tearfully talked about the former president’s reaction to the news that Kotb, 60, isﷺ departing the NBC show in early 2025.
“I don’t know if you’re embarrassed to say this or not, but I think you should,” Kotb said to Bush Hager, 42.
Kotb went on, “You called your dad. And I remember when we first started working together you were afraid.”
Bush Hager, in tears, recalled talking to her 78-year-old father when she replaced Kathie Lee Gifford as Kotb’s co-host on the entertainment-focused 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 former president 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 shared.
“And he said, ‘Oh, she’s leaving cause it’s time and you’re gonna be fine. It’s your turn. It’s okay,’ ” Bush Hager said.
Kotb stood up and clapped in response to hearing Bush’s comments.
“It’s your turn. It’s your turn,” she said, reiterating the ex-Commander in Chief.
“And whoever sits in this seat is going to have the easiest job in the world cause they’re sitting next to you,” Kotb said to Bush Hager while crying. “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.”
Kotb told the former first daughter that she is “a bright light” and that it’s her “turn.”
Bush Hager responded, “If I’m bright, it’s because I’m sitting in your glow. We all are. We have all had five incredible years together.”
Kotb 🌺then told th𓄧e cameras to pan to the entire staff of their show and led a round of applause for them.
“You are so beloved, and you have made every single one of us feel adore,” Bush Hager told her co-host. “We just can’t imagine life without you — but the good news is we don’t have to, because you’re going to be here for three more months!”
“I promise you,” Bush Hager went on, “the next three months are not going to be a sob fest. We are gonna have fun. We are gonna celebrate you.”
Bush Hager joined “Today” as a contributor and anchor in 2009. She began co-anchoring the fourth hour of “Today” with Kotb in 2019 following Gifford’s exit.
Kotb, meanwhile, has been at NBC since 1998. She was a correspondent for “Dateline” before joining the “Today” team 10 years later. She started co-hosting the fourth hour of the show in 2008.
The beloved journalist announced her “Today” exit Thursday morning.
In a letter to the “Today” staff, Kotb wrote, “I know I’m making the right decision, but it’s a painful one. And you all are the reason why. They say two things can be right at the same time, and I’m feeling that so deeply right now. I love you and it’s time for me to leave the show.”
“My time at NBC has been the longest professional love affair of my life,” Kotb said, adding that she’s chosen to step away from the show to spend more time with her daughters Haley, 7, and Hope, 5.
Kotb was joined by her co-hosts when sh🍒e announced the news of her exit including Bush Hager, Sav♋annah Guthrie, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Sheinelle Jones.
While she’s leaving “Today,” Kotb will keep working for NBC in an undisclosed capacity.
