On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush was visiting an elementary school and reading to the children when the second plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City.
The school turned into a makeshift command center, and the president addressed the nation from the school before boarding Air Force One to get to a secure location.
These photos from the US National Archives show how the 43rd president's day unfolded on 9/11.
President George W. Bush participated in a reading demonstration on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida.
Bush watched television coverage of the attacks on the World Trade Center during a briefing in the classroom.
Bush took notes as he listened to news coverage of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
Bush called New York Gov. George Pataki, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and Vice President Dick Cheney. White House Chief of Staff Andy Card spoke on a cellphone.
A highway sign on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, read, "All crossings to New York closed."
Bush watched television coverage of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center from his office aboard Air Force One.
Bush conferred with White House Chief of Staff Andy Card in the president's stateroom on Air Force One.
Bush spoke with his staff by telephone as Air Force One flew from Sarasota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Senior staff huddled in Bush's office aboard the presidential jet.
Bush and his staff looked out the windows of Air Force One at their F-16 escort while en route to Barksdale Air Force Base.
An F-16 fighter jet escorted Air Force One.
Offutt is a highly secure underground command center that can withstand a nuclear attack.
Bush, Adm. Richard Mies, and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card conducted a video teleconference at the base.
Back on Air Force One, Bush and White House counsel Harriet Miers linked arms as the plane headed to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
Bush spoke with Ari Fleischer and Karl Rove aboard Air Force One during the flight.
After departing Offutt Air Force Base for Washington, DC, Bush spoke on the phone with Vice President Dick Cheney from Air Force One.
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice waited at the South Portico for Bush to arrive at the White House.
Counselor Karen Hughes and counsel Alberto Gonzales followed Bush into the Oval Office after his return to the White House.
Working with his senior staff, Bush reviewed the speech he would deliver to the nation that evening.
Bush spoke with Cheney in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, a secure bunker located beneath the White House.
Laura Bush was also brought to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.
The president and first lady spoke with Cheney and Rice in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center.
Bush also met with Special Agent Carl Truscott of the US Secret Service.
Bush reviewed notes with Hughes before addressing the nation from the Oval Office.
Bush delivered his televised address, saying, "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."
After addressing the nation, Bush returned to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center to meet with members of his National Security Council.
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David Choi was a former Insider senior news reporter based in California, covering foreign affairs and politics. He profiled Democratic presidential candidates in the 2020 election, interviewed pardoned war criminals, and covered the Trump administration. Choi previously served in the US Army and California Army National Guard. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he majored in political science.
