According to a report published on Monday by The Washington Post, after the NATO summit held last month in Ankara, Trump flew on an alternative military plane, while the White House made it appear that the president was traveling on the light blue Air Force One.
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Trump had arrived in Turkey on the new Boeing 747-8, red, white, and navy blue, which was gifted to him by Qatar and is temporarily used as the presidential plane.
To leave Ankara, Trump publicly appeared boarding one of the old light blue Air Force Ones, so journalists and part of the White House staff assumed that was the plane that would take him to the Mildenhall air base in the United Kingdom, his next destination.
At that time, the president said that the plane gifted by Qatar would be taken to England before his departure so that the U.S. troops stationed in that nation could see it up close.
But once inside the old Air Force One, Trump was discreetly taken out through the rear to a catering vehicle, which transferred him to another military plane. A video published by the Washington Post showed part of that operation.
The group of journalists who believed they were traveling with Trump were advised to lower their window blinds before takeoff, apparently so no one would notice the operation to remove the president from the light blue Air Force One.
The third plane was a C-32A, a military version of the Boeing 757, much smaller than the one usually used as Air Force One.
The plane the journalists thought was carrying Trump took off as a decoy.
After arriving at Mildenhall, photographers captured images of Trump getting off the presidential plane, suggesting he reboarded Air Force One without being seen.
According to the Washington Post, an Iranian threat was deemed serious enough to force the deception operation.
Meanwhile, CBS News reported, based on U.S. officials, that a credible threat had been detected that Iran would launch a missile against the plane.
According to the newspaper, the revelation about the operation came from a U.S. official and another person familiar with presidential travel, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
At this point, it is worth noting that after the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last February 28, at the start of the war undertaken by the United States and Israel, threats against Trump became more serious. For example, during the Iranian leader’s funeral, public calls for his death were heard, while the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, promised to avenge his father.
After the visit to the Mildenhall base, Trump boarded the new red Air Force One to fly the rest of the way to the United States.
The AP agency recalled that during an informal press conference with journalists on board the plane, Trump was directly asked if there was any credible threat from Iran against Air Force One.
“Well, I’m always under threat. I’m number one on their list, before you guys”, he said. Then, he added addressing the journalists: “But if I go, you go too.”
Concern for Trump’s security
For international analyst Francesco Tucci, director of the Communication and Journalism program at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences (UPC), the operation reveals how seriously the presidential environment and security services take threats against the president, although there is still not enough public information to determine the exact nature of the risk that motivated the deception tactic.
However, Tucci warns that there are two versions of what happened. The first holds that the plane donated by Qatar and refurbished to be used as Air Force One was considered unreliable because it does not have all the electronic countermeasures and defense systems necessary for a presidential aircraft. The other points to the deception operation now revealed.
“What happened shows that Trump’s security is taken very seriously and, above all, when it comes to the presidential plane”, he says.
“It has not been seen on many occasions that the president travels with two planes. That only happens when there is a breakdown in the plane used as Air Force One,” he points out.
Tucci indicates that the fact that Trump’s environment has taken extraordinary measures does not necessarily mean there is conclusive information about an imminent attack, but that Iranian threats are considered a risk that cannot be dismissed.
The analyst recalls that Trump has faced real threats against his life and that during his time as a candidate he suffered an assassination attempt. Therefore, he considers that any alert related to Iran must be evaluated with special care.
Tucci also pays attention to the Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards specialized in operations abroad.
“Threats must be taken with caution,” he says. And he warns that Iran has capabilities to carry out operations outside its territory, although he considers it difficult for such an action to be carried out within the United States.
But he emphasizes that the risk is not limited to U.S. territory. “They can also hit him on a tour,” he says. He points out that even the most sophisticated security systems can fail.
Threats and contradictions in Trump’s security
Tucci recalls that protection measures around Trump have varied even during events of great public exposure.
“At the World Cup, Trump appeared behind bulletproof glass, but in the final he went down to the field to hand over the trophy,” he says.
He refers that this decision shows the difficulties in maintaining an absolutely rigid security scheme around a president with intense public exposure.
He considers that the possibility that Iran might try to act against Trump cannot be completely ruled out, although he insists that there is also not enough public evidence to affirm that there was a concrete assassination plan behind the Turkey operation.
Will Trump change his way of traveling?
Regarding whether Trump will modify his international travel from now on, Tucci considers that an important part of the answer will depend on the president himself and his personality.
“That will depend on him, on his egocentrism,” he states. As an example, he recalls the summit between Trump and Vladimir Putin, when the U.S. president wanted to use the arrival in Alaska to showcase the power of the U.S. Air Force.
Therefore, he does not rule out that Trump will again prioritize displays of force and public exposure at future international summits, even when security agencies recommend greater restrictions.
“He is a president with a strong personality, he is temperamental. It all depends on him,” he concludes.
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