USA · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
George W. Bush Marks 25th Anniversary Of September 11 With Painting Of Andrew Card’s News
Bush painted the moment he was told America was under attack; a self-portrait. The 16 paintings form the 'Remembering 9/11' exhibition at the Bush Presidential Library in Dallas.
Whether Bush’s paintings are respectful remembrance.
2 of 3 outlets skipped it: card said he made an editorial comment and avoided dialogue with Bush.
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Slate
“Online, some users called out the paintings as disrespectful and even ghoulish”Read the original ↗
1News
“Bush later said he hadn't wanted to signal panic to the room, but critics at the time saw it differently”Read the original ↗
Slate questions the paintings as disrespectful, while 1News stresses Bush’s claimed composure and critics from the original classroom moment.
Bush’s 9/11 Painting Moment
Former US president George W Bush marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by painting the moment he was told the US was under attack, with the artwork shared on social media alongside 15 others.
“shared on social media alongside 15 others”
The painting depicts Bush sitting in a Florida classroom as White House chief of staff Andrew Card leaned in and whispered the news in his ear, and Bush later said he hadn't wanted to signal panic to the room.
People reported that on Sept. 11, the 80-year-old former president was reading to children at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., when Card told him, “A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack,” after Bush had already been told that the first plane hit one of the towers.
People also said Bush remained seated for around seven minutes before leaving, and the footage became controversial after he sat in silence before continuing to read.
The Bush paintings are set to be on display throughout September at the George W Bush Presidential Museum in Texas, according to 1News.1
Card’s Account and Reactions
Andrew Card, speaking to Sky News in 2021, recalled that he “whispered into his right ear, 'A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack'.”
1News said Card believed Bush's composure reflected “the burden that he accepted when he took the Oath of Office,” and said Bush “did nothing to introduce fear to those second-graders.”1
People reported that Krystal Davis, one of the second-grade students at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in 2001, said, “You could see the shift with [the president] once he got the message.”
People also quoted Stevenson Tose-Rigell, who was 10 at the time, describing that instead of delivering a speech on his education policy, the No Child Left Behind Act, Bush went live to address the nation and confirm reports of “an apparent terrorist attack on our country.”
Exhibit, Memorials, and Scope
The exhibition tied to Bush’s paintings is described as “Remembering 9/11,” and notus.org said it is on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas through the end of September.
““Remembering 9/11,” is on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas through the end of September”
notus.org also said Bush created the collection after visiting Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, where he was reading “The Pet Goat” when Card leaned over and whispered: “A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack.”
The Hill reported that the artwork will be on display at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas for the rest of the month, and it said Bush posted the rendering of the moment Card notified him at the elementary school in Florida.
People said nearly 3,000 Americans and international citizens died when the Twin Towers were attacked, and it added that another 184 people died inside the Pentagon during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
WTOP News said President Donald Trump observed the anniversary by attending a ceremony at the Pentagon, and it described a new moment of silence in New York to honor people exposed to toxic dust released by the twin towers’ collapse and who have since died of cancer and other illnesses.