It’s one of those "where were you" moments that defines a generation. If you were alive and conscious in 2001, you remember the grainy footage. You remember the confusion. But mostly, people remember George W. Bush, the president of the US during 9/11, sitting in that Florida classroom.
He was reading The Pet Goat to second graders.
Then Andy Card whispered in his ear.
"A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack."
Bush didn’t jump up. He didn't scream. He sat there for seven minutes. Some people call it a failure of leadership; others say he was trying to keep a bunch of seven-year-olds from panicking while his own brain processed a literal declaration of war. That seven-minute window is probably the most scrutinized bit of footage in American political history. It was the exact second the Bush presidency shifted from "tax cuts and education reform" to "global war on terror."
The Longest Day on Air Force One
Most people think the president rushed back to DC immediately. He didn't.
The Secret Service was terrified. They had reports—later proven false—that Air Force One was a target. So, the president of the US during 9/11 spent hours zigzagging across the sky. He went from Sarasota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, then to Offutt in Nebraska.
It was chaotic.
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Communications were spotty. Imagine being the leader of the free world and having the phone line cut out while you're trying to authorize the shooting down of hijacked civilian aircraft. That actually happened. Bush was reportedly furious, demanding to go back to the White House, but the "men in suits" wouldn't let him.
By the time he finally landed back in Washington D.C. that evening, the world had fundamentally changed. The smoke was still rising from the Pentagon and the Pile in Lower Manhattan.
The Bullhorn Moment at Ground Zero
Three days later, Bush stood on a burnt-out fire truck at Ground Zero.
This is the moment that defined his high-approval ratings in the months following the attacks. A rescue worker shouted, "I can't hear you!"
Bush grabbed a bullhorn.
"I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"
Politics aside, that was a raw, human moment. Even his harshest critics at the time admitted it galvanized a terrified public. According to Gallup, his approval rating soared to 90%, the highest ever recorded for a president. It’s hard to imagine that kind of unity now, honestly. People weren't looking at him as a Republican or a Democrat; he was just the president of the US during 9/11 trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding.
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Moving Toward the War on Terror
Things got complicated fast.
Within weeks, the administration shifted from mourning to planning. The "Bush Doctrine" was born—the idea that the U.S. would make no distinction between terrorists and the nations that harbored them. This led directly to the invasion of Afghanistan to find Osama bin Laden and topple the Taliban.
But there’s a lot of nuance here that gets lost in history books.
- The Patriot Act: This was rushed through Congress. It changed how the FBI and CIA talk to each other, but it also started the massive domestic surveillance debate we’re still having today.
- The Department of Homeland Security: This wasn't even a thing before 2001. Bush created a whole new wing of government to "connect the dots."
- The TSA: Love them or hate them, your airport experience exists because of the legislation signed in the wake of the attacks.
There was also the controversial "Axis of Evil" speech. Bush lumped Iraq, Iran, and North Korea together. This is where the narrative starts to split. While the country was unified on 9/12, by the time the conversation shifted toward Iraq and "weapons of mass destruction," that unity started to crumble.
What We Get Wrong About the Response
A common misconception is that the administration was focused solely on Al-Qaeda from day one. In reality, the 9/11 Commission Report later highlighted massive "failures of imagination" across the board.
Documents like the August 6, 2001, President's Daily Brief (PDB) titled "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US" became a huge point of contention. Critics say Bush should have seen it coming. Supporters argue the intel was too vague to act on.
It’s also worth noting that the president of the US during 9/11 made a very specific effort to visit a mosque just days after the attacks. He famously said "Islam is peace." He was trying to prevent a wave of hate crimes. While it didn't stop everything, historians like Timothy Naftali point out that this was a crucial move to prevent a total breakdown of social cohesion within the States.
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The Legacy of a Crisis Leader
Being the president of the US during 9/11 meant presiding over the end of the "90s peace."
The budget surpluses of the Clinton era vanished. The military-industrial complex went into overdrive. We entered a period of "forever wars" that only technically ended with the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Bush’s legacy is forever tied to those towers. You can’t talk about his economic policy or his work on PEPFAR (which saved millions of lives in Africa regarding HIV/AIDS) without someone bringing up the Iraq War or the Patriot Act.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Researchers
If you want to understand this era beyond the soundbites, you need to look at the primary sources. History isn't just what we remember; it's what was written down while the dust was still settling.
- Read the 9/11 Commission Report: It’s actually surprisingly readable. It’s not just a dry government document; it’s a narrative of exactly where the system broke down.
- Watch the "Seven Minutes" footage in context: Don't just watch the clip of Bush's face. Look at the timeline of when the FAA grounded flights and when Cheney was moved to the bunker.
- Compare the 9/14 Bullhorn Speech to the 9/20 Address to Congress: The first is emotional; the second is the formal blueprint for the next twenty years of American foreign policy.
- Check out the George W. Bush Presidential Library archives: They have released thousands of declassified photos and memos from that day that show the sheer panic behind the scenes.
The role of the president of the US during 9/11 wasn't just about giving speeches. It was about managing a massive, sudden pivot in the American story. Whether you think he handled it with grace or set the stage for future conflicts, the impact of those 24 hours on the presidency is undeniable.
To get a full picture of this era, examine the declassified President's Daily Briefs from the summer of 2001 and compare them with the eventual findings of the 9/11 Commission regarding intelligence sharing. This provides the clearest view of the pre-attack landscape.