Jenna Bush Hager Surprises Dad George W. Bush With on-Air Phone Call as Former President Admits He's Been 'Trying to Avoid' TV

Jenna Bush Hager unexpectedly called up her former president father, George W. Bush while on the job.

Sheinelle Jones and the producers of TODAY With Jenna and Sheinelle convinced Bush Hager to whip out her phone and see if Bush would pick up on the live Thursday, September 17, episode.

"Why do y'all like to prank me?" she whined as someone brought her cell phone to the news desk and the room erupted in applause.

Despite her hesitation, the anchor dutifully dialed the number, shielding her phone from the audience's prying eyes.

"He might not answer," she warned as the phone began to ring, calling Bush at his home in Dallas, Tex.

But after just a few rings, Bush enthusiastically greeted his daughter in his signature Southern drawl.

"You're on TV, Dad, you're on TV," she exclaimed as Jones chimed in to greet him.

"I've been trying to avoid that," he responded dryly.

Bush Hager introduced her father to her faithful co-host, whose father Bush coincidentally appointed as a Pennsylvania judge during his presidency many years prior.

"I have not met Sheinelle," Bush responded, sounding impressed before cracking another joke. "I'd like to shake her hand, but it's a little difficult."

Despite being totally surprised by the phone call, Bush did not waste his opportunity to do some self-promotion on live television.

"I'm glad you called," he began ominously, prompting his daughter to stop in her tracks.

"I don't know if you know this or not, but I've got a book coming out next March. As a result of me taking this call, I'm hopeful I can convince you to help me sell the book," he continued, promoting his upcoming art book, The Call of Freedom.

The book will feature portraits of famous political prisoners around the world painted by the former president himself.

Bush Hager, who runs the Read With Jenna Book Club, invited her father to come on the show to promote his new project, teasing that it would give him a great opportunity to finally meet Jones.

"I would doubt that," he said, instead inviting the women to come down to Texas and visit him.

Jones promised to visit, in turn, pledging that the anchor duo would try their hardest to promote his book on their show.

"Jenna's going to help sell your book; don't you worry about that," she promised before turning to her co-host. "Can you make it a book club pick?"

"I don't think so, but I love you," Bush Hager told her father before they wrapped up their impromptu conversation.

"Sheinelle, thank you for being such good friends with Jenna, and I wish you girls all the best," he signed off.

Of course, after hanging up, the reporting team had to decompress from their initial anxieties of calling a former president on-air.

"When he said, ‘I’m glad you called, I was like, ‘Am I grounded?'" Bush Hager gushed, sounding relieved.