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Former President Bush Says SNL Impressions Never Bothered Him A Bit

There's nothing like being out of office for more than eight years to make a former president look happy and, maybe for some, human again.

George W. Bush appeared on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday night --laughing, cracking jokes and charming his host as he plugged his new book of portraits of veterans.

Bush continued a theme this week of contrasting himself with — and even critiquing — the current president, which he purposefully avoided during Obama's presidency.

Bush said imitations of him by Will Ferrell and others didn't bother him "at all." He said he loves humor and that "the best humor is when you make fun of yourself." Kimmel's reply: "Tell that to the president; he doesn't think so." President Trump has repeatedly dismissed Saturday Night Live's satire of his administration.

Bush laughed.

Poking fun at himself further, Bush said Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels once told him he had a writer come up with the word "strategery." Bush said he told Michaels that he had come up with the word. "And he said, 'No you didn't say strategery.' I said, 'I damn sure said strategery.' He said, 'We invented it.' I said, 'Let me ask you this: Did he come up with 'misunderestimate'?"

You can watch the full interview here or in the video player above.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

NPR News' Brian Naylor is a correspondent on the Washington Desk. In this role, he covers politics and federal agencies.