Jenna Bush Hager, who is currently in New Jersey for a Today story, took the time to speak with her colleagues Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb about her grandmother Barbara Bush’s health on Monday, April 16.
One day earlier, it was confirmed that the former first lady, 92, would no longer be seeking additional medical treatment amid her failing health. Instead, she has decided to focus on comfort care.
“We are grateful for her. She’s the best grandmother that anybody could ever have. Barbara and I talked to her last night. She’s in great spirits and she’s a fighter. She’s an enforcer.”
She added: “She reminded me not to believe everything you read. So we’re grateful for her, for everybody’s prayers and thoughts. And know the world is better because she’s in it.”
The mom of two also noted that she is now with her husband, former President George H. W. Bush. “The man she’s loved for over 73 years and they are surrounded by family,” she told Guthrie and Kotb. “But I think the fact that they are together in this and he still says, ‘I love you Barbie’ every night is pretty remarkable.”
The couple have been married since 1945. In January, they were both admitted to the hospital — George Sr., 93, for shortness of breath and pneumonia and Barbara for bronchitis.
“It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face of her failing health, worrying not for herself — thanks to her abiding faith — but for others,” their family’s statement read on Sunday, April 15. “She is surrounded by a family she adores, and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving.”
