Threat forced Air Force One exit, says Trump

HIDDEN DANGER | Secret Service, military moved US president to decoy plane in Turkiye; operation kept secret for weeks

THE BIG QUESTION: Why were journalists and officials left aboard Air Force One when Trump was moved because of a security threat?

Washington: US President Donald Trump said the Secret Service and military wanted him off Air Force One in Turkiye last month because of a threat, even as journalists, White House officials, security and support staff remained aboard the presidential aircraft as it took off essentially as a decoy. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, different plane,” Trump said on Tuesday. “I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”

His comments confirmed a Washington Post report that he was moved following a Nato summit because of a credible threat from Iran. The operation remained secret for weeks. Trump downplayed both the threat to himself and the potential risk to those left on Air Force One.

“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” he said, without providing details. “I don’t worry about anything, to be honest.”

The episode raises questions over the risk to those aboard the decoy aircraft, why the President was covertly separated from the White House press pool and why the operation was not disclosed after the immediate threat had passed.

After stopping in Britain, Trump secretly reboarded the presidential aircraft. He later scoffed when reporters asked about potential danger. “If I go, you go. Right?” he said, although he had not been aboard the decoy flight.

Presidents have previously travelled covertly and used decoy aircraft, but Garrett M Graff, author of Raven Rock: The Story of the US Govern­ment’s Secret Plan to Save Itself While the Rest of Us Die, said keeping such an operation secret afterwards appeared unprecedented.

Graff also questioned Trump’s separation from the press pool, saying its presence was about protecting “the presidency and democracy” as much as covering the story. Many details remain unknown, including the precise nature of the threat, why Air Force One flew as a decoy with journalists and officials aboard, and what assessment was made of the risk to those on the aircraft.

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Clinton decoy briefed journalists

Veteran White House reporter Susan Page has revealed journalists were briefed before Bill Clinton used a decoy plane while flying from India to Pakistan in 2000. Page said officials explained the security measures and dangers involved. In contrast, reporters aboard Trump's recent decoy flight were not told he had switched aircraft or about the extent of the threat and were told to keep window shades closed.