Jenna Bush Hager at C of O, talks unconditional love and the gift of relationships

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — On Oct. 10, Jenna Bush Hager paid a visit to College of the Ozarks to share her insights about the years she spent living in the White House with her twin sister, and what life looked like for the daughter of a President of the United States.

The theme for Hager focused on her family’s unconditional love and support, although as a teenager, living with a presidential candidate wasn’t always positive.

Hager said she wasn’t initially enthusiastic about her father, George W. Bush, becoming president. When he told Hager and her twin sister, Barbara, his intention to run for President of the United States, their response was (as Hager puts it) a bit embarrassing.

“…we were 16 and we broke out in tears and, as twins could do, only in unison. And we told him, he said, you know, I’m going to run for president and I want your approval. And we said, ‘no, you can’t do that. You’re going to ruin our lives!’ And then he said, ‘well, I really wanted your approval, but I’m going to do it anyway. And then we said, well fine, do it, but you’re gonna lose!’”

By the time Bush began the campaign for his second term, the girls were out of college and decided to get to work on their father’s campaign.

“We were 22 years old and we got to meet extraordinary, amazing people that we would never have met, and we got all that time with our dad, which is, was, you know, most adult kids don’t get,” said Hager.

She also spoke about her grandparents, their humble attitudes and their impact on her life, including her grandma’s advice — “don’t believe everything you read.”

“…I think what she meant is you can’t believe everything you read because people are way more than just statistics or you know, names in the newspaper. They’re humans,” Hager said.

The relationship between Hager and her sister was also a gift as they grew together, she said, and navigated being first daughters side by side.

“Well, you know, I had somebody that could hold my hand through our, our life and it’s been such a privilege. But I will also say and, and it’s made both of us, I think, braver than we would be without each other. We are both doing things and have done things in our career and in our lives, but I don’t know that we would have if we didn’t have each other by our side…,” Hager said.

Before leaving the stage, Hager also had this advice:

“…my biggest advice to all of you, and especially the college students is go and live your dreams and don’t stay so married to one plan. Dream big, you can have an extraordinary life… so when you succeed and you will, then you think about that little baby who was born in a different country that just doesn’t have schools like this, that, that gives so much and, and you try to help a little.”

Jenna Bush Hager

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