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:
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First Posted: 08-17-08 05:56 PM | Updated: 09-17-08 05:12 AM