The White House is defending an elaborate security operation that secretly moved President Donald Trump off Air Force One after intelligence reportedly uncovered a credible Iranian plot to shoot down his aircraft.
New details published Tuesday by Reuters, CBS News, the Associated Press and others confirmed that Trump quietly flew from Turkey to Britain aboard a smaller military jet July 8 while the familiar presidential aircraft continued separately with journalists and some White House staff aboard.
The operation had all the ingredients of a Hollywood thriller—and, naturally, produced a media meltdown because reporters were not handed the secret plan in advance.
According to the accounts, Trump publicly boarded the blue-and-white Boeing 747 after attending a NATO summit in Ankara. Minutes later, he and several aides exited through another door, entered an airport catering truck and were driven to an Air Force C-32A. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined Trump on the smaller aircraft.
The original plane continued to Britain with reporters and staff members who believed Trump was still aboard.
CBS News previously reported that officials had detected a credible plot to fire a missile at the president’s aircraft. The Secret Service then “swiftly swapped to a backup strategy,” according to the network.
After the full operation became public, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the security precautions.
“As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Cheung said, according to Reuters.
Trump had publicly acknowledged the Iranian danger after reaching Britain, saying he was “number one” on Tehran’s assassination list. Asked at the time why reporters had been ordered to close their window shades, he joked darkly, “But if I go, you go. Right?”
Critics seized on the revelation that the press plane had functioned as a “decoy.”
Former Biden State Department spokesman Ned Price accused the administration of lying to journalists and the public. Former Obama aide Tommy Vietor used a vulgar insult to portray Trump as frightened, while MeidasTouch editor Ron Filipkowski mocked the president by comparing him with Joe Biden.
But defenders questioned what the Secret Service was supposed to do after receiving intelligence about a possible missile attack: distribute the president’s actual location to every person aboard both aircraft?
The maneuver was also not without presidential precedent. In 2000, Bill Clinton secretly flew into Pakistan aboard an unmarked executive jet while the traditional Air Force One traveled ahead as a decoy. The Secret Service feared terrorists in neighboring Afghanistan possessed shoulder-fired missiles. Somehow, Clinton’s operation did not become a decades-long morality play about imperiled journalists.
The Associated Press described Trump’s maneuver as unusual but quoted a former Secret Service agent saying it was not unprecedented.
There is a fair question about why nonessential personnel were permitted to fly aboard an aircraft officials believed might be targeted. There is also a legitimate public-interest debate over what the White House said after the operation was complete.
What is considerably harder to defend is the implication that Trump personally devised the escape, pushed reporters into harm’s way and then cackled from inside a catering truck. Available reporting describes a countermeasure organized after intelligence officials and the Secret Service identified a credible assassination threat.
Should officials explain why journalists and staff were allowed aboard the decoy? Absolutely. But preserving the location of the president during an active assassination threat is called security—not cowardice.
And before Democrats become too precious about decoy airplanes, somebody should gently remind them that Bill Clinton used one too. Apparently, a ruse becomes reckless only when the wrong president survives it.
DBS WIRE SOURCES
- Washington Post — Amid Iran threat, Trump secretly left Air Force One and flew aboard military jet
- Reuters — Trump boarded secret Turkey flight via catering truck due to Iran threat
- CBS News — Trump secretly switched planes in Turkey amid Iran missile threat
- Associated Press — Trump used elaborate ruse to leave Turkey following Iran threat
- New York Post — Trump secretly departed Turkey aboard military plane after Iran threat
- Washington Post archive — Air Force One flew ahead as a decoy during Clinton’s Pakistan trip
