George Bush Calls Michael Phelps After His 8th Medal: Find Out What He Said

Sunday evening in Beijing, about nine hours after Michael Phelps made Olympic history with his 8th Olympic medal at the 2008 Games, he sat down with Lester Holt and Jenna Wolfe of the Today show to discuss his victory. After asking Phelps how "awesome" this all was, to which the swimmer replied "crazy," Lester asked Phelps to describe the phone call he received before coming on the set. Phelps replied:

I just got a call...and was on the phone with President Bush. So uh...it was pretty cool...uh...he actually told me to give my mother a hug and say it was from the president. So, that was pretty cool and we just talked for about five minutes.

Lester then asked him if Bush he asked "any specific questions about any of the races." Phelps responded:

Nothing really, no, he was... I actually met him after the 400IM and he came down onto the pool deck and we got to take some pictures so it was pretty cool.

Here's the account of the phone call from the China Daily:

US President George W. Bush on Sunday telephoned Michael Phelps and told the US Olympics swimming sensation "if you can handle eight gold medals, you can handle anything," the White House said.

"Laura and I are proud of you. Our family is proud of you, but most importantly, America is proud of you," Bush, who was here on his Texas ranch, told Phelps, whose eight gold medals at a single Games are unmatched.

"We're excited for you. You handled yourself with humility. Give your mom a big hug for me. 41 and I were honored to get a picture with her," Bush said, referring to his father, George Bush, the 41st US president.

Bush really refers to his dad as "41"?

Watch the full video of Phelps discussing the phone call here:

Comments

[aubrey8]

wanted to know if he had ever considered the military..­.

[thecanadian]

Congratulations Mr. Phelps. A job extremely well done.

[danoj]

Doesn't that mustach make spitz look like a 70's porn star.

[aubrey8]

you must watch a lot of porn....

[politicky]

Even our idiot president couldn't ruin this. Phelps has been training for this since he was seven.

[AERO]

If Bush was his coach, he'd still be there trying to figure out how to get out of the water.

[politicky]

Whoa, I meant the preznit couldn't ruin the moment, but lol, you're right!

[optech007]

Phelps '08

[Chuckwheat]

Was it a collect call?

[JeanPaulSatire]

No, it wasn't exactly a collect call, but Phelps's grandkids will have to pay. With interest, of course.

[CamsDad]

You know both candidates are vying for a guest appearance from Mr. Phelps at their respective conventions. Particularly McCain with all its flag waving stagecraft potential. The only issue would be having them appear together given how small McCain would look next to MP.

[DaOne]

Mc Cheese also called him to say that his eight medals were due to the success of the surge.

[Ibost]

LOL!

[SEDANMIK]

AND GREAT LEADRSHIP OF General Petraeus

[JICC]

(It was painful to watch Spitz and Phelps chat the other night. The first is amazingly articulate, the second... mein gott what a contrast, after a while I could not watch anymore. I don't think it has anything to do with age either)

[Pacific231]

I disagree. Spitz looked super-classy giving Phelps a huge public atta-boy and high praise for his accomplishments. Phelps was appreciative. End of story.

[politicky]

Hmmm, maybye you could consider what these two men have been doing for the last ten years. One has had his head underwater for 4 or 5 hours a day (p'hraps not helpful in learning the art of public speaking, eh?), and the other has made a living doing corporate motivational speaking. And yes, there is the age difference. Phelps is right where he's supposed to be:
Basking in the glory, enjoying the moment, and LEARNING how to deal with the media attention in a mature way.

[JICC]

A five-minute conversation between these two... hmm, lemme see... that must have involved a lexicon of about 25 words. "Pretty cool".

[NoSandwiches]

a
and
Awesome
bomb
Bush
China
Cool
Crazy
Eight
Fly
from
Give
Gold
her
hug
it
Medals
mother
Olympics
president
tell
the
Tight
was
your


Those are the 25 words!

[Pacific231]

Look, Phelps has never tried to present himself as anything but what he really is (the greatest Olympic swimmer in world history).

OTOH, Bush has lived his life as a simpleton buck-naked emperor, pushed to the top at every possible opportunity by opportunistic puppermasters. (Did anyone see how Bush had more than he could handle fielding softball questions from Bob Costas?)

Don't pull Phelps down with our pathetic fraud in chief.

[robotfog]

I wouldn't have accepted the call, but then, maybe the young man was being polite.

[sws3030]

I'd love to have George call me. Of course he would hang up when I told him I though he was the most worthless person alive.

[LGrace]

I'm right there with you. (And if Bush were to say anything to/about _my_ mother, I'd be deeply insulted. Hands off, motherhugg­er.) Of course there are the endorsement deals to consider. Dissing the prez might mean losing millions.

[Balloonman]

Exactly at what level of OLYMIC GAME qualifications are you coming from robotfog? You got credentials? No matter you despise the man you going to slam the receiver down, click off the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA calling to congratulate YOU? Well I should hope so! Not that PHELPS is inclined to more than in house pool verbosity. Everybody isn't EARTHA KITT: http://www.researchpubs.com/books/ism1exc2.php

[okfalls]

Bush has to call someone, no one else in the rest of the world wants to hear from him. I congratulate MP. Absolutely amazing.

[ebbtide]

well, I guess that is pretty "cool".

I am more concerned about the way this country in turning, and has been turned under Bush, than an athelete winning gold medals. Have not watched one broadcast of the Olymipics and I don't care.

Phelps has made himself a name and will make a good chunk of money off his endorsements after the Olympics and should, I guess., After that he will be forgotten.

You go America. You have the best Olympics team. Yea, yea, yea and since that means we must as a country have the best of everything,, and the right to invade and occupy a country and kill and murder and cause chaos, so that the corporationns can continue to run our lives, while we struggle with gas prices and the upcoming heating prices in the north, the upper northeast to be exact, we should all watch the Olympics and be proud, and bathe in the conficence that we are number one in the swimming contest. Because a swimmer got a lot of gold medals. We are nuimber one!

[BiscuitBoy]

Too true. I often recall (I was a teenager then but keenly interested in what was happening in the country-- we were citizens then as opposed to consumers-- how the press hounded Nixon in the months leading up to his resignation-- as well they should have. They were relentless-- the pressure never let up. Thirty-some odd years later, it is one of the mysteries of the universe why this abomination called Bush has been given such a free ride by the media. And Bush makes Nixon look like Howdy-Doody.

[Olerist]

GWB to MP

"I'm sorry son but you'll have to turn in those medals to China to help us pay off our staggering debt to them"

[buzzy]

t heard somewhere that the medals arn;t really made of gold, but, have a thin coat fof gold paint, which i also heard has begun to flake off. can't confirm...­.just heard it somewhere.

[2grainsofsalt]

see my thumb?

[dexxjones]

the juxtoposition of a guy with real, raw talent and achievement with a guy who never achieved anything that his father's cronies didnt purchase has the potential to fry my brain. im more interested in what W is going to say to his "jeysus" when called upon to explain himself.