Remembering 9/11: Andrew Card on the moment everything changed

September 6, 2026 / 9:39 AM EDT / CBS News

President George W. Bush arrived at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., on a clear September Tuesday in 2001 to celebrate a surge in reading scores. Teacher Kay Daniels' second-graders were eager to meet him. "It was a beautiful start of the day," Daniels said. "Moms had done hairs, and uniforms were pressed, and everybody was excited."

President Bush, she said, "was light, and he was approachable."

The children were about to read to the president when the light began to turn. As Daniels recalled, "Mr. Card came up and whispered in the president's ear, and my whole being just froze, because I knew that was not supposed to happen."

And then something happened to the president's attitude. "He left us for a moment," said Daniels. "Not physically, but I could tell he left us for a moment, but he came back. And I'm wondering, what was that moment about?"

The president read the assigned book, "The Pet Goat," for a few moments – then briefly addressed the nation with few hard facts: "Today, we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/