Andrew Card, a former White House chief, changed the course of America’s future on September 11, 2001, with just 11 words that he whispered to former US President George W. Bush.

In a 2016 interview with MSNBC, Card recalled the tense moments after he had been informed about the attacks in New York and how he had to convey the message to then-President Bush.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Bush and his security details were at the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Florida to meet second-grade students. 

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The former White House Cheif of Staff recalled that on the day, he was first told that a small jet had crashed into one of the Twin Towers in New York. “The president, the principal, and I all had the same reaction: ‘Oh, what a horrible accident. The pilot must have had a heart attack”, said Card.

However, the next few minutes would be the most crucial. Card was informed that the aircraft that rammed into the building was actually a commercial jetliner. Minutes later, the news about a second plane crashing into the other Twin Tower came through.

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Upon hearing about the second plane crashing in the prominent New York buildings. Card walked up to Bush, who was sitting in a classroom full of young students and media officials, to inform him about the attack. 

Card then went on to say the crucial 11 words. “A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack”, he recalled in the interview with MSNBC.

“While he sat in that classroom, he did nothing to generate fear from those young kids. He did nothing to demonstrate fear that would have been translated to the satisfaction of terrorists around the world. Instead, he thought about his job”, Card said in the interview.