(SeaPRwire) – By: Gavin Thorne
This is not a minor procedural error in presidential security. It is a raw, unvarnished display of how Donald Trump sees anyone who works around or covers him. The reporters who travel with him on every trip are not people. They are disposable tools to be used for his own safety. He did not even bother to tell them they were being turned into decoys for a potential Iranian assassination plot. This one incident tells you more about his character than any 100 campaign ads ever could.
Last month, Trump was returning to the UK from a NATO event in Türkiye. Intelligence services picked up a potential Iranian plot to assassinate him. Iran had recently seen top leaders including Ali Khamenei killed in US-Israeli strikes. Protesters across Iran had openly called for Trump’s death. Trump first switched from a Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8 to an older Air Force One. The older jet has better security and life support systems, per initial reports.
New details that broke this week show the switch was just the first step. Trump boarded the older Air Force One, then sneaked out in an airport catering truck. He transferred to a smaller military jet for the flight to the UK. Once on the ground, he re-boarded the older Air Force One. This made it look like he had stayed on the plane the entire trip. The reporters and White House staffers on the plane never knew what happened. Major outlets including CNN, Reuters, The New York Times and The Washington Post argue this left them in grave danger.
This incident exposes the long-running war between Trump and the press that extends even to life-or-death security matters. Trump has spent years calling reporters liars and enemies of the public. He sees no downside to putting them at risk to save his own skin. Compare this to Bill Clinton’s 2000 decoy plane use for a trip to Pakistan. Clinton briefed all traveling reporters off the record before the operation. No one was left in the dark, no one was used as an unwitting target.
The fallout from this reveal shows how hard the White House is working to clamp down on unwanted disclosures. The Department of Justice has already subpoenaed New York Times reporters over their coverage of the new Air Force One. The Pentagon revoked the security clearance of former Air Force chief Frank Kendall for leaking classified details about the plane to the press. Trump says he only followed the advice of the Secret Service and military. His spokeswoman claims the new 747 was perfectly safe, just scheduled for upgrades.
This disregard for reporter safety will turn even more mainstream journalists into open opponents of Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Author bio: Gavin Thorne, an investigative journalist based in Washington DC tracking special interests and legislative affairs.