Billy Bush criticizes Al Roker as a ‘vengeful’ bully during a brief ‘Today’ run

Bush claimed that at the time he was brought in for today’s third hour, Roker’s days were secretly numbered, despite him having a deal to do the show “in perpetuity.”

“It was never going to be a successful hour because he might be the worst interviewer on television, and he’s completely unprepared. And I came in for the new job and I was going to be the lead person at that hour,” he revealed of management’s plan.

“I hate to tell Al this now, but the general manager of the show, Noah Oppenheim, told me, ‘You have to survive until March, and then we’re going to take Al out. We’re going to take him out of this deal. When his deal is over, we’re going to take him out this hour, because he’s toxic,'” Bush explained, as the plan was to make it more of a strain. Regis & Kelly kind of format.

Ultimately that didn’t happen, because Bush was let go Today in October 2016 after the infamous Donald Trump tape was released, in which the two men were caught talking on a Access to Hollywood hot mic in 2005, and the then-future president made a rude comment about grabbing women’s genitals.