Jenna Bush Hager is a reminder that there's never a wrong time to call your loved ones, even on live TV.
The TV journalist, 44, surprised her father, former President George W. Bush, with a phone call during the Sept. 17 episode of "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle."
Co-host Sheinelle Jones suggested the idea after sharing a clip from a 2007 episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" when Bush Hager called her dad. "Now that it’s your show… our show, can we call him again?" Jones asked.
Bush Hager was playfully reluctant at first, asking, "Why do y'all like to prank me?" acknowledging that former "Today" host Hoda Kotb had previously done this to her. She proceeded to dial her father and put the call on speakerphone close to the microphone. Once he answered
she disclosed "You’re on TV, Dad!"
"I’ve been trying to avoid that," Bush replied.
Despite not planning to be on television, the 43rd president of the United States used the opportunity to promote his upcoming book "Call of Freedom: Portraits of Political Prisoners and Dissidents," which publishes on March 9.
"Listen, I’m glad you called because I don’t know if you know this or not, but I’ve got a book coming out next month," he said. "And as a result of me taking this call, I’m hopeful I can convince you to help me sell the book."
Bush Hager then tried to turn the impromptu call into a future booking, asking, "So are you gonna come here and be on our television show?"
"I would doubt that," he said.
George W. Bush reacts to appointing Sheinelle Jones' judge father
Bush Hager then mentioned that Bush has not yet watched her co-host Jones, who joined "Today with Jenna & Sheinelle" in January.
"I have not met Sheinelle," he said. "I’d like to shake her hand, but it’s a little difficult."
His daughter then revealed that she had met Jones' father, Judge C. Darnell Jones. "Sheinelle’s dad was a judge, and you actually appointed him," she told him.
"God, you gotta be kidding me!" Bush said. "That’s fantastic. He had to be a good man."
Bush mistakenly misnamed Jones while inviting her to visit in Dallas before Bush Hager corrected him. "Sheinelle, not Michelle!”
"That’s what I meant, Sheinelle," he said.
Jones proceeded to thank Bush "for being a good dad to Jenna," adding, "I know you guys have a beautiful relationship and I just think you’re a good man."
"Well, I appreciate that very much," he replied.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jenna Bush Hager puts dad George W. Bush on the spot with live TV call on 'Today'
