'America is under attack': The terrifying sequence of events that reshaped a presidency on 9/11
Inside a temporary press center in Sarasota, Florida, journalists initially watched live footage of smoke pouring from the World Trade Centre, assuming a tragic accident had occurred. The mood shattered when a second plane slammed into the south tower.
- Sep 10, 2026,
- Updated Sep 10, 2026 7:08 AM IST
It began with a predawn jog on a Florida golf course and a routine trip to promote elementary education. Hours later, President George W Bush was aboard Air Force One navigating a national nightmare as hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Traveling as one of two Reuters correspondents with the president on September 11, 2001, veteran reporter Steve Holland witnessed the transformation of an untested leader during the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.
Inside a temporary press center in Sarasota, Florida, journalists initially watched live footage of smoke pouring from the World Trade Centre, assuming a tragic accident had occurred. The mood shattered when a second plane slammed into the south tower. Moments later, inside a classroom at Emma E Booker Elementary School, a White House aide leaned down and whispered to Bush: “America is under attack.”
What followed was a tense sequence of security maneuvers. Secret Service agents rushed Bush onto Air Force One, where early communication glitches complicated the response before the aircraft diverted to an underground bunker in Nebraska.
In Washington, panic mounted as smoke rose from the Pentagon. Secret Service officers shouted for female White House staffers to kick off their high heels and run as rumors of car bombs circulated.
By nightfall, Bush returned to the White House and addressed a stunned nation from the Oval Office.
“The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger,” Bush said.
With nationwide commercial flights grounded, Holland, who served as president of the White House Correspondents' Association, helped coordinate a 14-hour chartered bus ride back to Washington. Upon arrival, reporters passed the still-smoldering wreckage of the Pentagon.
Three days later, on September 14, Holland followed Bush to New York City. At Ground Zero, surrounded by acrid smoke and unstable building facades, Bush stood atop a ruined firetruck alongside then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Grabbing a bullhorn, Bush spoke to soot-stained rescue workers.
“I can hear you! 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!” Bush declared.
For Holland, the physical reality of that day remains preserved at home.
The shoes he wore while walking through the ash and debris of Ground Zero were sealed inside a plastic bag and stored in a closet. Decades later, they remain there — damaged beyond wear, but too significant to throw away.
From ashes to architecture: Lower Manhattan reclaimed
Twenty-five years after tragedy reshaped the New York skyline, the 16-acre expanse where the twin towers once stood has evolved from a site of devastating loss into a bustling, reflective hub that draws millions of visitors each year.
Dominating the revived downtown landscape is One World Trade Center. Standing at a symbolic 1,776 feet to honor the year of American independence, the 2014 skyscraper holds the title of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, offering views from an observation deck soaring over 100 floors above Lower Manhattan.
At the heart of the plaza sit two massive, cascading memorial pools, each cast directly into the original footprints of the fallen towers. Encircling their perimeters are bronze panels inscribed with the names of the 2,983 victims lost in the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Below ground nearby, the subterranean National September 11 Memorial Museum offers an intimate historical tribute to that fateful morning.
Design and culture also define the modern complex. The Oculus — a striking, white transportation center designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava — connects commuter rail lines beneath a vast skylight engineered to align with the sun at 10:28 a.m. every September 11, honoring the exact moment the North Tower fell.
The surrounding plaza now features Three and Four World Trade Center, the Perelman Performing Arts Center, and the rebuilt St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, which reopened in 2022 after being destroyed in the 2001 collapse. Construction continues on Two World Trade Center, the final major tower, which is slated for completion in 2031.
It began with a predawn jog on a Florida golf course and a routine trip to promote elementary education. Hours later, President George W Bush was aboard Air Force One navigating a national nightmare as hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Traveling as one of two Reuters correspondents with the president on September 11, 2001, veteran reporter Steve Holland witnessed the transformation of an untested leader during the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor.
Inside a temporary press center in Sarasota, Florida, journalists initially watched live footage of smoke pouring from the World Trade Centre, assuming a tragic accident had occurred. The mood shattered when a second plane slammed into the south tower. Moments later, inside a classroom at Emma E Booker Elementary School, a White House aide leaned down and whispered to Bush: “America is under attack.”
What followed was a tense sequence of security maneuvers. Secret Service agents rushed Bush onto Air Force One, where early communication glitches complicated the response before the aircraft diverted to an underground bunker in Nebraska.
In Washington, panic mounted as smoke rose from the Pentagon. Secret Service officers shouted for female White House staffers to kick off their high heels and run as rumors of car bombs circulated.
By nightfall, Bush returned to the White House and addressed a stunned nation from the Oval Office.
“The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger,” Bush said.
With nationwide commercial flights grounded, Holland, who served as president of the White House Correspondents' Association, helped coordinate a 14-hour chartered bus ride back to Washington. Upon arrival, reporters passed the still-smoldering wreckage of the Pentagon.
Three days later, on September 14, Holland followed Bush to New York City. At Ground Zero, surrounded by acrid smoke and unstable building facades, Bush stood atop a ruined firetruck alongside then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Grabbing a bullhorn, Bush spoke to soot-stained rescue workers.
“I can hear you! 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!” Bush declared.
For Holland, the physical reality of that day remains preserved at home.
The shoes he wore while walking through the ash and debris of Ground Zero were sealed inside a plastic bag and stored in a closet. Decades later, they remain there — damaged beyond wear, but too significant to throw away.
From ashes to architecture: Lower Manhattan reclaimed
Twenty-five years after tragedy reshaped the New York skyline, the 16-acre expanse where the twin towers once stood has evolved from a site of devastating loss into a bustling, reflective hub that draws millions of visitors each year.
Dominating the revived downtown landscape is One World Trade Center. Standing at a symbolic 1,776 feet to honor the year of American independence, the 2014 skyscraper holds the title of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, offering views from an observation deck soaring over 100 floors above Lower Manhattan.
At the heart of the plaza sit two massive, cascading memorial pools, each cast directly into the original footprints of the fallen towers. Encircling their perimeters are bronze panels inscribed with the names of the 2,983 victims lost in the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Below ground nearby, the subterranean National September 11 Memorial Museum offers an intimate historical tribute to that fateful morning.
Design and culture also define the modern complex. The Oculus — a striking, white transportation center designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava — connects commuter rail lines beneath a vast skylight engineered to align with the sun at 10:28 a.m. every September 11, honoring the exact moment the North Tower fell.
The surrounding plaza now features Three and Four World Trade Center, the Perelman Performing Arts Center, and the rebuilt St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, which reopened in 2022 after being destroyed in the 2001 collapse. Construction continues on Two World Trade Center, the final major tower, which is slated for completion in 2031.