Inside the White House on 9/11
John McConnell on his memories of working in the White House on September 11, 2001. Plus: American Pastoral by Philip Roth.
At the dawn of September 11, 2001, David Frum and his guest John McConnell were present in the administration's inner workings. Frum recounted that upon stepping outside the West Wing, they found Washington deserted with yellow tape marking off the streets. National Guard and armored personnel carriers were stationed everywhere.
Notably, the American flags remained flying, which Frum pondered would be lowered the next day, yet they remained up that night. McConnell described arriving at the vice president's office at 8:30 AM and waiting outside the door. About 8:46, the time of the first 9/11 attack, McConnell was still standing outside, reminiscing about the events of that fateful day.
Written by urgent.news from The Atlantic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
