Tearful Hoda Kotb Left Speechless By Birthday Present From George W. Bush

Hoda Kotb was moved to tears by her 60th birthday present from Jenna Bush Hager and her famous father.

Bush Hager presented her longtime friend and co-host with a custom painting by her dad, former president George W. Bush, during yesterday’s live birthday extravaganza on the Today Plaza Monday. 

"I know how much your girls mean to you," a teary Bush Hager explained as she handed a neatly wrapped present to an equally teary Kotb. "I had my dad, who has started painting, paint your favorite photo of you holding your girls."

The painting depicts Kotb and her two daughters—Haley, 7, and Hope, 4—in a park. The West Virginia native can be seen holding Hope's hand as big sister Haley walks ahead. Bush signed the painting with his customary number "43" scrawled in red in the bottom right corner, a nod to him being America’s 43rd president.

“It’s too much! It’s too much!” Bush Hager told the cameras as she and Kotb became increasingly emotional. “We have to go to a video, it’s too much.”

Kotb, who turned 60 years old on August 9, marked the landmark birthday with a special episode of her podcast “Making Space With Hoda Kotb.” In it, the beloved television personality opens up about experiencing life’s greatest gifts—motherhood included—in her later years. Kotb is looking towards the next chapter with her trademark positivity.

“Some people, when they turn 30, are like, ‘Oh my God, I’m 30. It’s over. All my friends are married.’  It’s like, be real, man,” she said. “You’re on your own ride. You’re on your own train, and your blessings are coming when they come. And your blessings might come in your 20s. They might come in your 30s. They might come in your 40s. Mine started—started—in my 50s. That’s when the best ones came.”

Happy birthday, Hoda!