Jenna Bush Hager reveals her grandfather George H.W. Bush took her on a DISNEY CRUISE after he lost 1992 presidential election - because he 'thought it would be a good way to transition'

Jenna Bush Hager has opened up about how her grandfather George H.W. Bush took her on a Disney Cruise after he lost the 1992 presidential election as an incumbent. 

The Today star, 42, remembered the surprising family vacation while playing a game of 'Hot Takes' with her co-host Hoda Kotb and their guest Joel McHale on Tuesday's show. 

When asked to share his thoughts on cruises, the actor joked that he went on a theme one with Bush Hager's paternal grandparents, former President Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. 

'I actually did go on the Disney Cruise with my grandparents,' she said to his surprise, but she added that they didn't realize it would be themed. 

Jenna Bush Hager, 42, revealed on the Today show that her grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, took her on a Disney Cruise after he lost the 1992 election 

The Today star remembered the surprising family vacation while playing a game of 'Hot Takes' with her co-host Hoda Kotb and their guest Joel McHale

'He had lost the presidency, and he thought a good way to transition would be to take us on the Disney Cruise,' Bush Hager explained

McHale struggled to wrap his head around the idea of the 41st president being a passenger on the popular cruise line. 

'Your grandparents just walked onto a cruise ship with 3,000 other people? And the president was just sitting there?' he asked. 

'Well, he had lost the presidency, and he thought a good way to transition would be to take us on the Disney Cruise,' Bush Hager explained, as she and Kotb burst into laughter.  

McHale joked that 'this is the book I want to read' before asking more questions about their time on the cruise. 

'So you’d go wait in line for a meal and they’d be like, "There’s the president. There he is,"' The Soup star asked Bush Hager, who replied, 'Yes, yes.' 

'That’s amazing,' the comedian said. 

McHale was also asked to weigh in on Bush Hager's 'iconic Christmas party photo' during the segment. 

'Y'all, this is mean,' she said after producers pulled up a photo of her posing with her grandparents and twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, at the White House in 1991.

Bush Hager noted that her grandparents didn't know that the cruise would be themed. A Disney Magic cruise ship is pictured in Grand Cayman in February 2024 

'Your grandparents just walked onto a cruise ship with 3,000 other people? And the president was just sitting there?' McHale asked 

The comedian was also asked to weigh in on Bush Hager's 'iconic Christmas party photo' from 1991 during the segment, joking that she looked like she was 'an employee at McDonald's' 

McHale noted that Bush Hager's father, George W. Bush, was also president. 'My dad sold commercial real estate and was pretty good at it, but he wasn't the freakin' president,' he said

While the rest of the family was wearing red, she had on a bright yellow button-down shirt and a floral tie paired with gold wire-frame glasses. 

'So what's your take on Jenna's look,' Kotb asked, joking, 'She's the boy.'

'I'm the boy in the mustard tie,' Bush Hager reiterated. 

McHale had plenty of thoughts on her Christmas look, saying, 'So that's where the rest of the family got a memo saying wear red for the photo and you said you would dress like...'

'I think that's an employee at McDonald's, which is great,' he added. 'You look like you manage a McDonald's right there.' 

McHale later noted how 'crazy' it was that Bush Hager's father, George W. Bush, was also president.  

'My dad sold commercial real estate and was pretty good at it, but he wasn't the freakin' president,' he said. 'Congratulations. Do you tell your husband, "You’re not the president, so you could work a little harder."'

'Sometimes!' Bush Hager replied.