At 9:05 Andrew Card whispered to the president that a second plane had hit and that America was under attack. Bush told the Commission his instinct was to project calm rather than let the country see an excited reaction; he saw the press behind the children, their phones ringing. He stayed for five to seven minutes while the children read, then went to a holding room. [1]
Critics held up the scene as indecision; others have treated it as a sign he knew in advance. The record shows only that he stayed; it contains nothing to suggest foreknowledge. Air Force One left Sarasota at about 9:54, with the Secret Service and Card against a return to Washington. [1]
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