Jenna Bush Hager and Roommates Took 'Mind Eraser' Shots on Dad's Stressful 2000 Election Night: 'My Mind Didn't Erase'

Mar. 15, 2025

George W. Bush and Jenna Bush Hager.Photo:Mark Wilson/Newsmakers

Mark Wilson/Newsmakers

Jenna Bush Hagerdidn’t exactly have a traditional college experience.The 43-year-old daughter ofGeorge W. Bushwas acollege freshman at the University of Texas at Austinwhen her dad was elected president of the United States in 2000. While talking about her random roommates on the Dec. 5 episode ofToday with Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager said the two ladies helped her ahead of her transition into becoming the first daughter.“On Election Day, they were like, ‘Girl, we gotta get some ‘mind erasers’ because we just can’t deal,’ ” Bush Hager recalled, explaining that “mind erasers” were a popular shot in the early aughts. “‘We gotta get you some mind erasers because who knows what’s gonna happen tonight?’ ”She continued, “So I had one, and my mind didn’t erase.”Jenna Bush Hager and George W. Bush.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via GettyThat wasn’t the only way the now-mother of three let loose ahead of her dad taking on the office of the president in January 2001.“Then he was elected after the chads fell and such," she said — referring to the infamous “hanging chads” that delayed the presidential election results — “and my roommates were like, ‘We need the last weekend of freedom. Put it in your agenda.’ ”She continued: “The weekend before I got Secret Service, they were like, ‘Can we take you out?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, what should we do?’ They were like, ‘We’re driving to Mexico!’ ”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Bush Hager, who married Henry Hager in 2008, revealed that she did, in fact, cross the border with her roommates, telling co-hostHoda Kotb, “It used to be safer, but I drove across the border to Acuña, Mexico. It was legal to drink there, so it felt safer. There was a bar with a slide, that’s all I remember. Thank God I’m alive. Thank you, God.”Jenna Bush Hager graduating high school.Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Sygma via GettyBack in September, Bush Hager revealed that she and her twin sister,Barbara Pierce Bush, weren’t supportive of their dad when he initially decided to run for president.“Unfortunately, when I was 16, my father sat my sister and I down and said, ‘Now listen, we really want your support, I’d like to run for president.’ [Barbara and I] broke down in tears,“she recalled on the Sept. 3 episode ofToday with Hoda & Jenna. “As only twins can do, we cried in unison. We said, ‘No!’ We said, ‘You’re going to ruin our lives, Dad.’ And then we said, ‘And even if you run, you’re going to lose!’ ”While Bush Hager’s parents moved to Washington, D.C., after her father was elected president, she stayed in Texas to get her degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She eventuallyworked for a few yearsin D.C. and Maryland as a teacher.Bush Hager — who is mom to daughtersMila, 11, andPoppy, 9, and sonHal, 5 — went on to become anauthorand, later, a television host, when shereplacedKathie Lee Giffordas the co-host ofTodayin 2019.“It feels organic and it feels right, which I don’t know if I would do it if it didn’t,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “They probably wouldn’t have asked me to do it if it didn’t. But it just feels like the right time for me.“WithKotb’s departure fromTodaynext month, Jenna will be hostingToday with Jenna & Friendswith guest co-hosts until she can find a more permanent replacement.

Jenna Bush Hagerdidn’t exactly have a traditional college experience.

The 43-year-old daughter ofGeorge W. Bushwas acollege freshman at the University of Texas at Austinwhen her dad was elected president of the United States in 2000. While talking about her random roommates on the Dec. 5 episode ofToday with Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager said the two ladies helped her ahead of her transition into becoming the first daughter.

“On Election Day, they were like, ‘Girl, we gotta get some ‘mind erasers’ because we just can’t deal,’ ” Bush Hager recalled, explaining that “mind erasers” were a popular shot in the early aughts. “‘We gotta get you some mind erasers because who knows what’s gonna happen tonight?’ ”

She continued, “So I had one, and my mind didn’t erase.”

Jenna Bush Hager and George W. Bush.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty

PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty

That wasn’t the only way the now-mother of three let loose ahead of her dad taking on the office of the president in January 2001.

“Then he was elected after the chads fell and such,” she said — referring to the infamous “hanging chads” that delayed the presidential election results — “and my roommates were like, ‘We need the last weekend of freedom. Put it in your agenda.’ ”

She continued: “The weekend before I got Secret Service, they were like, ‘Can we take you out?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, what should we do?’ They were like, ‘We’re driving to Mexico!’ ”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Bush Hager, who married Henry Hager in 2008, revealed that she did, in fact, cross the border with her roommates, telling co-hostHoda Kotb, “It used to be safer, but I drove across the border to Acuña, Mexico. It was legal to drink there, so it felt safer. There was a bar with a slide, that’s all I remember. Thank God I’m alive. Thank you, God.”

Jenna Bush Hager graduating high school.Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Sygma via Getty

Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Sygma via Getty

Back in September, Bush Hager revealed that she and her twin sister,Barbara Pierce Bush, weren’t supportive of their dad when he initially decided to run for president.

“Unfortunately, when I was 16, my father sat my sister and I down and said, ‘Now listen, we really want your support, I’d like to run for president.’ [Barbara and I] broke down in tears,“she recalled on the Sept. 3 episode ofToday with Hoda & Jenna. “As only twins can do, we cried in unison. We said, ‘No!’ We said, ‘You’re going to ruin our lives, Dad.’ And then we said, ‘And even if you run, you’re going to lose!’ ”

While Bush Hager’s parents moved to Washington, D.C., after her father was elected president, she stayed in Texas to get her degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She eventuallyworked for a few yearsin D.C. and Maryland as a teacher.

Bush Hager — who is mom to daughtersMila, 11, andPoppy, 9, and sonHal, 5 — went on to become anauthorand, later, a television host, when shereplacedKathie Lee Giffordas the co-host ofTodayin 2019.

“It feels organic and it feels right, which I don’t know if I would do it if it didn’t,” she told PEOPLE at the time. “They probably wouldn’t have asked me to do it if it didn’t. But it just feels like the right time for me.”

WithKotb’s departure fromTodaynext month, Jenna will be hostingToday with Jenna & Friendswith guest co-hosts until she can find a more permanent replacement.

source: people.com