Twins Barbara Bush and Jenna Bush Hager called the White House home for eight years while their father, George W. Bush, was president, and the former first daughters are looking back on everything from trying to change their dad’s mind about gay marriage to what it was like to learn that Saddam Hussein’s sons kept photos of them in their gym.
In an excerpt from their upcoming memoir, Sisters First, published by People, Barbara, 35, recalled how her Secret Service agents used to sit outside her dorm room at Yale University and pretend to read while watching for visitors.
‘I understood this safety measure after Saddam Hussein’s sons Uday and Qusay were killed in 2003,’ she wrote. ‘Plastered on the walls of the brothers’ gym, American troops found photos of Jenna and me.
Looking back: Barbara (pictured with Jenna in 2004) recalled having Secret Service agents sitting outside her dorm room at Yale University after the deaths of Saddam Hussein’s sons
‘Our images were scattered among hundreds of photos of naked women. Even though we were clothed, the news was chilling.’
As a student at Yale, Barbara also had to deal with the backlash that came along with some of her father’s controversial policies and decisions when he was president.
Barbara recalled getting ‘mediocre’ grades in one of her humanities classes and her TA offered her an A if she convinced her father not to go to war in Iraq.
Terrifying: Barbara explained American troops found photos of her and Jenna with images of naked women at Uday (left) and Qusay (right) Hussein’s gym. They’re pictured with their father
Standing her ground: Barbara revealed she tried to change her father’s mind about gay rights as a teen, but she ended up storming away from him. The Bush family is pictured in 1997
She explained that the shocking experience left her wondering ‘how many other people thought a presidential daughter should be held responsible for any beliefs other than her own.’
However, as their first daughter, Barbara admitted that she did try to change her father’s mind about gay rights when she was 16 years old, but she ended up storming away from him.
‘I believed that one conversation would be all it took to change is mind,’ she said, noting that her father remained calm while asking her questions throughout their conversation.
Different opinions: Barbara knew her father to be ‘accepting and tolerant’, but she said he was not ‘comfortable with the idea of gay marriage and its implications’ like she was
First daughters: The twins are the only children of former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura. They’re pictured being held by their parents as newborns
Growing up in the public eye: When they were children, their grandfather, George H. W. Bush, was president. They are pictured in 1991
Although Barbara knew her father to be ‘accepting and tolerant’, she said he was not ‘comfortable with the idea of gay marriage and its implications’ like she was.
During the discussion, her mother, former First Lady Laura Bush, pointed out to her husband that Barbara had backed him into a corner with her argument.
‘My dad may not have changed his mind that evening, but neither did he try to change mine,’ Barbara said.
Although their father and grandfather George H.W. Bush are famous Republican presidents, Jenna is an Independent, and Barbara isn’t affiliated with any political party.
Troubling times: The twins revealed they spent the day after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election in Jenna’s bed together for ‘comfort’
Cheeky anecdote: Jenna revealed their grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, gave them martinis on their 16th-birthday trip to Italy. They are pictured with their ‘Ganny’ as kids
Promoting their book: The sisters appeared at the 2017 BookExpo held at the Javits Center in New York City in June
Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Barbara even attended a fundraiser for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
The morning after Donald Trump defeated Clinton, the twins were cuddled in Jenna’s bed for ‘comfort’ while her husband, Henry Hager, was away. Clinton’s shocking loss made Jenna question why women aren’t ‘lifting each other up’ the way her sister has always done for her.
The time they spent lying in bed together sparked the idea of their memoir, which is filled with plenty of cheeky anecdotes, including the time their grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, gave them martinis on their 16th-birthday trip to Italy.
Jenna, who is now mom to daughters Mila, four, and Poppy, two, recalled their reaction to the adult cocktail, saying: ‘You want to pretend to like it, but straight vodka at 16? It was no wine cooler.’