Jenna Bush Hager Says Her Grandpa Was ‘Crushed’ to Leave Office After One Term as She Commends Biden’s ‘Hard’ Choice

Bush Hager recalled George H.W. Bush's difficult election loss on the 'Today' show, saying that she feels sympathy for President Biden as he exits the 2024 presidential race

Jenna Bush Hager is recounting the toll that a 1992 election loss had on her late grandfather, President George H.W. Bush.

On the Monday, July 22, episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager was speaking about President Joe Biden's announcement that he will no longer run for reelection.

"You know, I think, it’s so interesting because we’ve become a country that is so divided about politics that sometimes It’s hard to think, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s a human,' " Bush Hager, 42, said, adding: "I think even in the depths of us having these political opinions, and obviously it has come to a fever, we gotta remember that people are human."

Bush Hager added that Biden's announcement — and his family's response — echoed a situation in her own family, when her late grandfather lost his 1992 reelection bid to Democrat Bill Clinton.

Related: George H. W. Bush's Gracious 1993 Letter to Incoming President Bill Clinton Goes Viral

"[Biden] reminds me a little bit of my grandfather who, I’ll never forget when in 1992, he worked so hard and he wasn’t elected and he was crushed," she recounted. "And he wrote a letter to President Clinton which went around on the Internet but basically the end of it was, ‘You are my president and today I’m rooting for you.’ "

That letter — penned by Bush to Clinton following the defeat — went viral after the former president's death in 2018. In it, Bush made no mention of their differing political opinions, but wished his Democratic successor the best of luck.

Related: Jenna Bush Hager Honors Grandfather George H.W. Bush on What Would Have Been Former President's 100th Birthday

She continued: "This must have been a really difficult decision, and one in which his family helped probably support but also are sad about. And that is understandable. I don’t know but I assume this was a hard decision because a lot of one-term presidents don’t feel like that job has been done. And yet, he made the choice."

"And he said in the statement, 'because it was the best for the country.' And that’s such an admirable… don’t we want that? I want my kids to put others in front of themselves. I just hope our world, for our kids' sake, can be in a place where we can have conversations and empathy and grace and compassion for people who may not have the same political views than us."

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Biden announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 race — but would serve the remainder of his term — on Sunday, July 21, following mounting pressure and speculation over his fitness to serve for four more years.

Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to receive the Democratic presidential nomination, and said he would speak to the nation about next steps in more detail later this week.

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