Jenna Bush Hager reflects on giving Obama daughters White House tour
'We have so much more in common than what divides us.'
Jenna Bush Hager says her fondest White House moment was the day she and twin sister, Barbara, gave Sasha and Malia Obama a tour of the official residence of the U.S. president.
Hager reflected on helping the Obama girls transition into life at the White House after Barack Obama’s 2008 election.
“We gave them a tour of the White House,” she said on Dr. Oz, PEOPLE reports. “We showed them what was our bedrooms, which was going to become their bedrooms. We just had such a beautiful day because, really, we have so much more in common than what divides us — especially the kids.”
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Hager and her sister were the same age as Sasha and Malia when her grandfather, George H. W. Bush, became president.
“We saw ourselves in those precious little girls because when our grandfather became president, we were their age,” she said. “So we knew what was magical about the White House.”
Adding, “We taught them how to slide down the banister, which I’m sure Mrs. Obama loved,” Hager joked. “We’re so proud of those girls.”
Hager previously revealed that she still keeps in touch with Sasha, 19, and Malia Obama, 22, as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton’s daughter Chelsea Clinton.
“We reach out to each other,” Hager said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “Chelsea and I see each other around — well, we used to. Now I don’t see anybody. We used to see each other around New York City. And I reach out to the Obama girls, and vice versa,” she explained.
“There is a sisterhood because it’s so few of us, that we know what it’s like and the beauty of it and living history, and also some of the difficulties,” she added.
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In 2017, the Bush twins penned an empowering letter to Sasha and Malia as they prepared to leave the White House.
“Malia and Sasha, eight years ago on a cold November day, we greeted you on the steps of the White House. We saw both the light and wariness in your eyes as you gazed at your new home,” Hager and her sister wrote. “The four of us wandered the majestic halls of the house you had no choice but to move in to. When you slid down the banister of the solarium, just as we had done as 8-year-olds and again as 20-year-olds chasing our youth, your joy and laughter were contagious.”
“In eight years, you have done so much. Seen so much,” they added, “We have watched you grow from girls to impressive young women with grace and ease. And through it all you had each other. Just like we did.”
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