Trump was loaded into a container and put on a military plane, with journalists and even part of his team being deceived that he was flying with them. What else have we learned from the revelations about the removal of the US president from Turkey?
US President Donald Trump was supposed to hide in a container and be secretly taken out of Turkey after the NATO summit, the "New York Times" and the "Washington Post" reported. After the "Secret Service" receive information about a threat to the president coming from Iran, it was decided that he would not fly on the new Air Force One, given to him by Qatar, but would board the old plane that he had been using before.
So in front of the cameras of all the journalists, he boarded the old presidential plane, and then even said that he had simply decided to fly on it "for good old times' sake." Later, the "New York Times" reported that the reason was an alleged threat to his life.
The story of Donald Trump's return from Turkey is actually even more complicated, reveals the "Washington Post". After the American president boarded the old Air Force One, "Secret Service" officers moved him to a "Boeing" military plane. Trump was loaded into a container used for catering and transferred to the third plane, which flew to the UK, where the entire American delegation was stopping.
Even parts of the president's team did not know what was happening
At the Mildenhall military base in the UK, Trump again seemingly got out of the old plane that everyone thought he had flown on. Neither the journalists nor even part of Trump's team knew that he had not traveled with them. The journalists were ordered to lower the blinds on the plane's windows before takeoff. No one was informed that there was a threat from Iran. During the flight to the US, Trump himself denied to reporters that he knew of any specific threat, but said: "I'm number one on their list, ahead of you. But if I leave, you leave too, right?"
"Washington Post" cites materials that the American newspaper's journalists have reviewed, as well as information from an administration official familiar with the complex scheme. The "New York Times" also cites its own source who was informed about the deceptive tactics used to safely remove the American president from Turkey. He says that the main priority for the "Secret Service" is the president's security, and publicity remains in the background. That is why journalists were deliberately misled about which plane Trump was traveling on.
When the delegation lands in Britain, everyone moves from the old plane to the new one, which was a gift from Qatar. Donald Trump himself also boards the Qatari "Boeing" in front of journalists, who were supposed to be under the impression that he had been traveling the entire time on one of the two state planes. When information leaked that this was not the case, and that public statements, including his own, were false, he became enraged, sources told the "New York Times".
The target was Trump
A former "Secret Service" agent describes the complex operation as the result of specific threat data and heightened vigilance. Before the NATO summit, the US military was shelling targets in Iran, ARD recalls. Even before that, US services had warned that there was a possible direct threat to Donald Trump's life.
The US president is traveling to Ankara on a new plane donated by Qatar. The threat from Iran was not specifically directed at the vehicle, sources familiar with the course of events told the "New York Times". Trump himself was considered the target.
The president was informed of the threat while he was in Turkey. A plan was drawn up, involving a small group of senior government officials, including General Dan Kaine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
This is not the first time a president has been protected by such maneuvers
The White House did not directly comment on the information disseminated by American media. White House Communications Director Stephen Chung said only: "As the president recently said, many of America's enemies have targeted him, and we are using all the tools at our disposal to counter those threats."
A similar operation was carried out in 2000, when then-President Bill Clinton used an unmarked plane to fly to Pakistan while the real Air Force One flew ahead of him to distract attention. Donald Michalek, a former Secret Service agent who served on the security teams of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said that the Secret Service has used fake motorcades and flights to transport presidents in the past.