George W. Bush Says U.S. Was 'Starved' to See a White Republican 'Having Fun' With an 'African-American Democrat' in Michelle Obama Admission

George W. Bush reflected on a viral moment with Michelle Obama in an interview with daughter Jenna Bush Hager on Today.

During the sit-down on Tuesday, April 21, the former president, 79, told Hager, 44, that he "slipped her [Obama] an Altoid" at Senator John McCain's funeral in 2018 because he "thought she might want one."

Clarifying that it wasn't a joke, Bush revealed how he was told, "'You're trending,'" shortly after, and admitted to being confused by the statement.

"I didn’t know what 'trending' meant," he said. "And it turns out, the country is starved to see a white center-right Republican and an African American center-left Democrat having fun and being able to converse, not as political figures, but as citizens."

The 43rd POTUS also explained he always sits next to Barack Obama's wife at funerals, calling to mind Michelle's own reaction to the moment.

In a 2018 appearance on Today shortly after the senator's funeral, the mom-of-two, now 62, told co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie that she and George "are forever seat mates because of protocol."

"He is my partner in crime at every major thing where all the formers gather," she said. "So we're together all the time, and I love him to death."

The ex-FLOTUS continued: "He's a wonderful man. He's a funny man. And it was a simple gesture. He was getting a cough drop from Laura Bush and I looked over and I said, 'Hand me a cough drop."

"I will add that they were old cough drops," she joked. "That's the funny thing, 'cause they were in the little White House box, the Altoids, and I was like, 'How long have you had these?'"

Savannah then remarked, "It one of those moments where people felt like, 'Oh, there's a bipartisan moment even with something as simple as a cough drop.'"

"That's why it matters so much," Michelle replied. "That's what people are hungry for. They're hungry for what we all know — party doesn't separate us. Color, gender...those kinds of things don't separate us."

She went on, "It's the messages that we send. If we're the adults and the leaders in the room and we're not showing that level of decency, we cannot expect our children to do the same."

Jenna also sat down with former presidents Barack, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton for a conversation ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary in July. Their interviews also aired on Tuesday.