Will Ferrell Revisits ‘SNL’ George W. Bush Impression With Jenna Bush Hager

More than two decades after Will Ferrell debuted his now-iconic impression of former President George W. Bush, he revived it on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna — with a fun bit of trivia.

Ferrell, 55, was known for impersonating Bush, 76, on “Saturday Night Live” in the early 2000s.

In one parody of a 2000 presidential debate with Al Gore, Ferrell, as Bush, used the made-up work “strategery” to describe his candidacy.

Many people assumed that Bush had coined the word in real life — including Bush himself, in fact, who was convinced that the sketch was based on something he had once uttered.

But as Ferrell explained, Bush never actually used the invented phrase at all.

“Here’s a funny story: I didn’t realize that I never said ‘strategery,’” Ferrell said Nov. 7 on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, slipping into his best Bush impression. “Someone else wrote that.”

Jenna Bush Hager, who is of course one of the former president’s two daughters, was on hand to confirm this, saying this wasn't the first time that the conversation had come up.

“(‘Saturday Night Live’ creator) Lorne Michaels told my dad, ‘You never said that,’ and he said, ‘What? I spent all those years (thinking I’d said it),’” she said.

“Oh, I knew all along,” Ferrell said, to which one of the actor's "Spirited" co-stars joked, “I think you owe someone an apology.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. President,” Ferrell said.

Bush himself backed up this story during a 2017 interview with Jimmy Kimmel, recalling that while having dinner once with Lorne Michaels, the “SNL” creator told him that a writer for the sketch show had come up with the word “strategery.”

“And I said, ‘Wait a minute, I said “strategery,”’” Bush recalled. And he said, ‘No, you didn’t say “strategery.”’ And I said, ‘I damn sure said “strategery!”’”

“He said, ‘We invented it,’” Bush added. "And I said, ‘Let me ask you this, did you come up with “misunderestimate?”’”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com