Jenna Bush Hager still can’t get enough of Will Ferrell’s impression of her father, former President George W. Bush.
Much to her delight, the funnyman broke out his classic impression of her dad when he stopped by TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle on July 16, along with Molly Shannon, Luke Wilson, Fortune Feimster and Jimmy Tatro, his costars from Netflix’s new golf comedy “The Hawk.” The group played a game of “Putt or Dare,” where they had to perform a challenge if they missed a short putt.
Ferrell was tasked with doing three celebrity impressions after he came up just short on his shot. First, he spoke as of Ron Burgundy, his beloved character from the “Anchorman” movies. Then he resurfaced his well-known take on late baseball broadcaster Harry Caray.
He then launched into his final impression: Jenna’s father, George W. Bush, whom he often portrayed during his time on “Saturday Night Live.”
“Here’s the thing about golf …” he began.
“I was hoping this was coming!” Jenna said.
Ferrell then looked at Jenna as he continued.
“We used to talk about this when you were just a little girl,” he said while everyone, including Jenna, laughed.
“You need a lot of strategery to get the ball in the hole,” he continued, as he fought off laughter.
“That’s your dad,” Ferrell, who turned 59 on July 16, said, finally breaking character while everyone applauded.
Ferrell made the word “strategery” famous during a 2000 “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which Ferrell’s Bush squared off against Darrell Hammond’s Al Gore in a presidential debate. Contrary to popular belief, Bush never used the word “strategery.” It was created by longtime “Saturday Night Live” writer Jim Downey.
Ferrell has busted out the impression on TODAY before.
“Here’s a funny story: I didn’t realize that I never said ‘strategery,’” he said in a Bush voice during a 2022 appearance with Hoda Kotb and Jenna. “Someone else wrote that.”
Jenna confirmed that her father never actually said the word. Despite that, she said her dad never had a problem with Ferrell — or anyone else — parodying him.
“I like to harass my dad,” Jenna said in 2024 on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna. “When he was the president, Barbara and I would show him the ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ where they made fun of him and stuff. He loved it.”
She also said her dad understood that getting lampooned came with the job.
“If you’re going to be the president of the United States, people are going to make fun of you,” she said. “And guess what, it ain’t just about you. That’s how it is, man. That’s how it’s always been.”