In 2020, Jenna Bush Hager opened up on the Today show about her family's White House years. Her father, George W. Bush, served as president of the United States from 2000 to 2008, and her grandfather was president from 1988 to 1992.
She says that, first of all, there are a lot of "misconceptions" about what it's like to be the child of a US president.
"Well, people ask that question some. It’s kind of hard to tell what people think about you … but I do think it’s hard: People don’t really know my parents, know who they are as my parents," she explained.
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Jenna's cohost, Hoda Kotb, jumped in. "I think Jenna, by the way, I think you’re one of the most down-to-earth people. And we work with her every day and you never get the feeling that you’ve lived any other life than the kinds of lives we’ve lived."
Jenna seemed to appreciate the compliment and kept going: "Well, we didn’t live in the White House. So people will always be like — ‘What was it like there?' I was in college, so I lived in Austin."
Jenna and Barbara Bush both spent most of their childhoods knowing that their grandfather and father were heavily involved in the politics of the United States. Their grandfather was elected president when the twins were 7, and their dad became governor of Texas in 1995. They were both on their way to college when George W. became president in 2000.
The twins were born and raised in Dallas before moving to Austin after their dad became governor. They had a fairly typical upbringing besides that notable political link, and they were active in sports like softball. When their dad was elected president, they were bound for two different schools: Jenna was beginning college at the University of Texas, Austin, while Barbara was on her way to Yale.
A family friend said that Jenna wanted to stay in Austin "because she was so connected in Austin, and she wanted to have her friends and not lose them."
She also added, "Barbara was a little more adventurous. She had done a semester in Rome in high school. I think she went to Yale for the adventure. Her father and her grandfather went there. I suspect her grades were better, but Jenna made pretty good grades."
Both the twins were a little notorious for causing some mild drama while they were college students. In one story, Barbara decided to take a spontaneous trip to Myrtle Beach … without telling the Secret Service. Both girls were teenagers at the time, and they were living under a giant microscope. Acting out makes sense.
For her part, Jenna engaged in slightly riskier activities. In 2001, she was cited for possession of alcohol (she was underage). This caused many to ask where the Secret Service was, and the head of the department explained, "The president's children do have Secret Service protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are not going to condone any violations of the law."
The White House also had to issue a statement. Spokesperson Claire Buchan said, "We respect the privacy of this young girl so we don't comment on her private life." Jenna's family also called the matter a personal one for the family to deal with. Jenna ended up being fined $51.25 and ordered to complete eight hours of community service and six hours of alcohol awareness classes.
However, both girls were cited just a month later. A manager called the police when Jenna tried to use a friend's ID to order alcohol, and Barbara had already been served a margarita that she was drinking. The Secret Service said they would leave with both twins, but Jenna was cited for misrepresentation of age by a minor, while Barbara was cited for possessing alcohol as a minor.
Even the police who arrived were surprised that they were called, since usually restaurants handle these kinds of things on their own. The police also said that Jenna was crying and told the officers they had no idea what it was like to not be able to just be a regular college student. Fair point.
However, both twins were well-behaved following that freshman year at college, and they have grown to be admirable women. In 2001, the Guardian wrote, "So far the girls seem the most appealing of the Bushes. They are not overly concerned with their father's career. They are not humorless advocates of his cause. They are spirited and ordinary and looking for the party."
Jenna says these days she mostly just thinks people assume she doesn't try very hard, or that she doesn't have to. "It’s hard to tell what people think about me, but I think probably, maybe, that I’m not a hard worker. I try to fight against that a little."
While both sisters campaigned for their dad in 2004, neither is interested in going into politics. During their speech introducing their dad in 2004, Jenna said: "We spent the last four years trying to stay out of the spotlight. Sometimes, we did a little better job than others. We kept trying to explain to my dad that when we are young and irresponsible, well, we're young and irresponsible."
Barbara added: "Jenna and I are really not very political, but we love our dad too much to stand back and watch from the sidelines. We realized that this would be his last campaign, and we wanted to be a part of it. Besides, since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years … kind of like dad."
Jenna went on to work for UNICEF, and Barbara worked with AIDS patients throughout Africa. The twins also cofounded the nonprofit Global Health Corps. Since then, Barbara has become the more private twin, while Jenna now works as a cohost on the Today show alongside Hoda Kotb.
