Updated

Updated · HuffPost · Aug 20

Press Group Seeks New Safety Protocol After Trump’s Air Force One Decoy Flight in Turkey

Updated

Updated · HuffPost · Aug 20

Press Group Seeks New Safety Protocol After Trump’s Air Force One Decoy Flight in Turkey

Q: Why were top cabinet members left on a decoy plane while the President secretly escaped via a catering truck?

They were left on the decoy plane because U.S. security officials were trying to protect Trump from what was described as a credible Iranian threat while also preserving continuity of government. Reports from CBS, the BBC, AP and others say Trump publicly boarded the aircraft identified as Air Force One in Ankara, then was secretly moved via a catering truck to a smaller military plane before takeoff. The original aircraft kept the Air Force One call sign and continued on with the press, staff and some senior officials to make it appear the president was still aboard. This kind of deception is a known presidential security tactic, often called a “shell game,” used to complicate targeting. Top cabinet officials were not left there by accident. According to multiple reports, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were aware Trump had switched planes and stayed on the first aircraft to maintain the presidential line of succession if something happened to Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the plane carrying the president. What remains unclear is the precise level of danger to those on the decoy aircraft. Trump later argued the smaller plane he used may actually have been at greater risk because it was the real target. Former security officials have said such ruses are not unusual in principle, though the secrecy toward the press and some staff was unusually extensive and has raised concerns about press-safety protocols.

3 articles · Updated · HuffPost · Aug 20

Jacqui Heinrich, president of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Association, asked the administration for a more robust press-safety protocol after reporters were left on Air Force One during Trump’s secret exit from Turkey.
The request followed last month’s NATO-trip episode, when Trump was moved inside a catering truck to a smaller plane after being warned of an Iranian assassination threat.
Reporters and some White House staff stayed aboard the larger aircraft believing Trump was still on it, intensifying criticism that the operation exposed the press to avoidable risk.
Seth Meyers revived the controversy on a Wednesday podcast, mocking the decoy-plane episode as the White House again faces scrutiny over journalist safety after the April correspondents’ dinner shooting.