Jenna Bush Hager is no stranger to comedians poking fun at her political family.

The 43-year-old Today co-host is the daughter of former President George W. Bush and the granddaughter of former President George H.W. Bush.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, Jenna gave her candid opinion of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s public response to the controversy surrounding his comments about President Donald Trump and the murder of conservative political organizer Charlie Kirk.

One week prior, an ABC spokesperson told PEOPLE that the Disney-owned broadcast network would be pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air “indefinitely,” prompting days of uncertainty about the show’s future.

Kimmel returned to his show on Tuesday, Sept. 23, clarifying his comments about the aftermath of Kirk’s death.

“It’s important to me as a human. And that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” he said through tears. “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”

Jenna praised Kimmel’s response on Today with Jenna & Friends, saying, “I thought that that was beautifully done.”

She added, “I long for a country where — and I feel like we can get back there — but where people that have different opinions sit at the same table and have conversations.”

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The longtime morning show co-host also acknowledged her own family’s history with comedians making jokes about them.

“I will also say that Freedom of Speech, and when he said, ‘A show like this that can make jokes at people in power,’ that’s part of what our country is founded on,” the mother of three noted.

She then went on to reference Saturday Night Live comedian Dana Carvey who played her grandfather on the NBC sketch comedy series.

“I remember reading stuff about him where I was like, ‘Oh gosh,’ like as a little kid, and, ‘That hurts and that’s not the man that I know,’ and that’s part of the job,” Jenna said. “Dana Carvey played my grandpa, and after he lost, my grandfather was devastated. He didn’t feel like he finished the job. He felt like he let down his staff… He had Dana come to the White House to make fun of him after he lost so he could cheer up his staff who was disappointed upon the results.”

George H.W. Bush lost the 1992 election to President Bill Clinton, who served two terms before George W. Bush was elected president.

Jenna, who was also portrayed on SNL during her father’s presidency, noted, “We laughed hysterically at some of it. And that’s part of it, too, is you can’t take yourself so seriously.”

Prior to taking on the fourth hour of the Today show solo with guest co-hosts back in January after Hoda Kotb exited the role, Jenna said that she and her former co-host discussed their show’s purpose regularly.

“I feel so lucky to work at a show where people have different opinions and believe different things, watch, come together,” she shared. “Hoda and I always said, and I remember, this is true, we used to make fun of ourselves.”

She added that despite regularly joking about their work, Jenna and Kotb felt a responsibility to “keep people company.”

“We let people take off the heavy backpack and have some laughs and some relief, and that’s a privilege,” she said.

Following Kimmel’s reinstatement on ABC, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he “can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” adding, “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there.”

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