“Today's Jenna Bush Hager says her father asked her about her criminal record in front of President Obama: 'He said, 'This must be hard for you'”

To Today with Hoda and JennaJenna Bush Hager reflected on a recent public appearance she made with her parents, Laura Bush, and former President George W. Bush, which she said turned into an “hour-long discussion” because of her father.

Bush Hager told Hoda Kotb all about the “amazing” weekend she spent with her parents during their morning talk on Monday (Sept. 23). “I was with my parents, which is always really fun because of the dynamic,” she told Kotb. “First of all, my dad, any host that hosts him –“

“Who moderated?” Kotb interrupted and asked.

“Me! I was the moderator!” Bush Hager replied. “I was the moderator and gave a few insights here and there when I felt I was able to, but other than that he always said, 'Yeah, okay, Jenna, why don't you tell everyone about the time you got arrested?'”

As Kotb started to laugh, Bush Hager continued, “Oh yeah, grilled for an hour. I asked questions, he grilled me a little, I asked a question, grilled a little. But it was fun and entertaining.”

As if things couldn't get any more awkward, former President Barack Obama was also there. Bush Hager said he offered her some comforting words after the conversation.

“President Obama was there, so we got to see him briefly,” she told Kotb. “And he said, 'How do you do it? Why do you come to do this?' Because he must have heard some of the criticism. And he said, 'That must be hard for you,' and I said, 'Yeah, it is.'”

Bush Hager has addressed the arrest several times on Today with Hoda and Jenna. In a 2023 episode, she told Kotb all about it, revealing that she was arrested at a Mexican restaurant in 2001 while trying to buy alcohol with her sorority sister's ID.

She told Kotb that the waitress called the police because “she didn’t like my father,” who was president at the time.

“To their credit, that was stupid. I mean, my father was the president,” Bush Hager admitted.

She added, “Well, I didn't actually go to jail, I just got arrested. I wasn't even arrested, I was never incarcerated. I just got caught as a minor in possession of alcohol when I was 20 years old for ordering a margarita at Chuy's with a fake ID.”

According to reports from the time, this was Bush Hager's second arrest for drinking while underage.

Today with Jenna and Hoda airs weekdays at 10/9c on NBC.