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Haunting Footage Shows Moment George W. Bush Found Out About 9/11 Attacks

Haunting Footage Shows Moment George W. Bush Found Out About 9/11 Attacks

Former President Bush was told about the news of 9/11 while in a classroom full of pupils and teachers.

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

Watch the moment former President George W. Bush was informed about a second plane hitting the twin towers on 11 September 2001:

Bush was the POTUS at the time and had received news of the tragic event when paying a visit to Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida.

In a room full of pupils, teachers and photographers, the former president was receiving a demonstration by the schoolteacher when one of his advisors whispered the chilling details into his ear.

Surprisingly, Bush remained calm when finding out that the second plane has hit one of the World Trade Center buildings, 18 minutes after the first plane hit the north tower.

YouTube

The classroom was converted into a command centre, where he even addressed the nation before boarding Air Force One.

A TikTok video, posted by @ianthemoon, shows the moment unfold with one person commenting: "Y'all realise he sat there so he didn't freak out all the kids and reporters in the room with him, bc [because] if he got up and stormed out of the room it would cause mass panic."

Pictures show later scenes where Bush and his associates were watching television reports of the attacks, listening to new security information and making calls to the FBI.

It has been reported that Bush also made a call to the New York Governor, George Pataki.

Talking about the school visit prior to the attacks, Andy Card - Chief of Staff at the White House, later said to Politico Magazine: "The president was in a great mood. He had that George W. Bush strut that morning.

Flickr/The U.S. National Archives

"I remember literally telling him, 'It should be an easy day.' Those were the words: 'It should be an easy day.'"

He went on to add: "We were standing at the door to the classroom when a staffer came up and said, simply, 'Sir, it appears that a twin-engine prop plane crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers'.

Flickr/The U.S. National Archives

"We all said something like 'what a tragedy'. I remember I was thinking about the passengers - how much they must've worried as they realised what was about to happen.

"It was only a nanosecond, and then the principal opened the door and the president went into the classroom to meet the students."

Card went on to explain: "Another plane hit the other Tower. Then I was thinking that we had White House people there - my deputy, Joe Hagin, and a team were in New York preparing for the UN General Assembly.

"I was thinking that Joe was probably at the World Trade Center - that's where the Secret Service office was, in the basement."

Featured Image Credit: YouTube

Topics: 9/11, US