--- title: Jenna Bush Hager: First Lady Barbara Bush Is 'a Fighter' description: Jenna Bush Hager said on the Today show that she talked to grandmother Barbara Bush after the family announced she was in failing health. canonical: https://time.com/5241345/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health-update/ author: Alix Langone article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-16T13:16:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:58:42.325Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jenna Bush Hager Says Grandmother Barbara Bush Is 'a Fighter' og:description: "She reminded me not to believe everything you read" og:url: https://time.com/5241345/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health-update/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf14e1785dc5eebd5/69892db886f68e40316e8e3e/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jenna Bush Hager Says Grandmother Barbara Bush Is 'a Fighter' twitter:description: "She reminded me not to believe everything you read" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf14e1785dc5eebd5/69892db886f68e40316e8e3e/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Jenna Bush Hager Says Grandmother Barbara Bush Is 'a Fighter' After Family Revealed She Is in Failing Health > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Alix Langone](https://time.com/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Apr 16, 2018 1:16 PM UTC  Jenna Bush Hager attends the Build Series to discuss the new book 'Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life' at Build Studio on October 24, 2017 in New York City. Jenna Bush Hager attends the Build Series to discuss the new book 'Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life' at Build Studio on October 24, 2017 in New York City. Daniel Zuchnik—WireImage/Getty Images by [Alix Langone](https://time.com/author/alix-langone/) ## Alix Langone Apr 16, 2018 1:16 PM UTC Jenna Bush Hager gave a touching tribute to her grandmother Barbara Bush on Monday – a day after the family revealed the former First Lady is in failing health and has declined further medical treatment. Bush Hager, a correspondent for [NBC’s _Today_ show](https://www.today.com/news/jenna-bush-hager-shares-emotional-update-grandma-barbara-bush-she-t127102), told viewers that she spoke to her 92-year-old grandmother on Sunday night after the announcement about her health. “We are grateful for her. She is the best grandma anybody could of ever had or have,” Bush Hager said. “Barbara and I talked to her last night, she’s in great spirits and she’s a fighter, she’s an enforcer. She reminded me not to believe everything you read.” > [](https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/985839723531915264) Bush Hager, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, has a twin sister Barbara, who is named after their grandmother. “We’re grateful for her, for everybody’s prayers and thoughts and just know the world is better because she’s in it,” Bush Hager said. The former First Lady announced through a family spokesperson Sunday that [she is now focusing on “comfort care”](http://time.com/5240933/barbara-bush-failing-health/) and not seeking further medical treatment to extend her life. On the _Today_ show, Hager highlighted her grandmother’s close relationship with former President George H.W. Bush, expressing admiration for their loving relationship after more than seven decades of marriage. “She’s with my grandpa, the man she’s loved for over 73 years,” said Hager. “They are surrounded by family, but I think the fact that they’re together in this and he still says, ‘I love you Barbie,’ every night is pretty remarkable.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5241345/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health-update/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5241345/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health-update/"},"headline":"Jenna Bush Hager Says Grandmother Barbara Bush Is 'a Fighter' After Family Revealed She Is in Failing Health","datePublished":"2018-04-16T13:16:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:58:42.325Z","description":"\"She reminded me not to believe everything you read\"","url":"https://time.com/5241345/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health-update/","keywords":["Barbara Bush","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf14e1785dc5eebd5/69892db886f68e40316e8e3e/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alix Langone","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alix-langone/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf14e1785dc5eebd5/69892db886f68e40316e8e3e/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health.jpg","caption":"Build Presents Jenna Bush Hager & Barbara Pierce Bush Discussing Their Book \"Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life\"","creditText":"Daniel Zuchnik—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/barbara-bush/","name":"Barbara Bush"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5241345/jenna-bush-hager-barbara-bush-health-update/","name":"Jenna Bush Hager Says Grandmother Barbara Bush Is 'a Fighter' After Family Revealed She Is in Failing Health"}}]}] ```