President Bush learns of the 9/11 Attacks
Photographer: Doug Mills
Date: September 11, 2001
Location: Emma E. Booker Elementary School, Sarasota, Florida, USA
Doug Mills of the Associated Press photographed President George W. Bush at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, on September 11, 2001, at the moment White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card leaned down and whispered in the President's ear: 'A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.' Bush had been reading 'The Pet Goat' with a class of second-grade students when the news arrived. The photograph captures Bush's expression in the seconds that followed as he absorbed the information. He remained seated for approximately seven minutes before leaving. The extended pause became one of the most analyzed moments of the 9/11 response and was extensively examined in Michael Moore's 2004 documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11.' The image is an enduring document of the moment America's president learned the country was under attack.
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