Reports of President Donald Trump’s secret move to a military jet during last month’s NATO summit in Turkey has put a rare security trade-off in focus: As officials apparently sought to shield Trump from a credible Iranian threat, White House staff, Secret Service agents, U.S. Military members and journalists remained aboard the decoy aircraft.
The White House did not return Fox News’ request for comment on whether officials assessed a separate risk to those left aboard the plane, which could have included Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It's not clear what, if any, protective measures were in place.
Air Force One is the call sign of the plane the U.S. president is traveling aboard, not the name of a specific aircraft.
The Washington Post first reported that Trump secretly switched to a military jet after appearing to board the older Air Force One in Turkey. Journalists and White House staff traveling with the president for the trip abroad remained on the aircraft that flew to the United Kingdom. Trump later rejoined the group before continuing home, according to the report.
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In a separate follow-up to that article, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence briefed the Trump administration on a threat to use shoulder-fired missiles against Air Force One. It also noted that Rubio was among top aides who remained aboard the older aircraft.
Former Secret Service agent Bill Gage told Fox News that the people aboard the aircraft "probably did face an elevated risk." But he described the reported operation as a calculated response to the threat environment surrounding Trump.
"Any travel with him should be considered a risk," Gage said. "I think some members of the government at the highest levels made a calculated risk to not tell anyone on the fake AF1."
The key distinction in the reporting is that the threat was allegedly aimed at the aircraft believed to be carrying Trump, rather than at the older jet itself. The secret slip-away by the president left all passengers on the plane as potential collateral of any attacks, with no public accounting of if there were additional protections in place for them in the heightened threat environment.
Reporters traveling on the older Air Force One from Turkey to the United Kingdom recount being asked to close their window shades as the plane took off. Asked later that day whether he knew why reporters were asked to close the shades, Trump replied: "You’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with."
"I’m number one on their list, before you," he told a reporter. "But if I go, you go right? So perhaps some day you want to change professions."
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Gage told Fox News Digital that the reported operation was likely kept to a very small circle because of the security sensitivity. "Very few people would have been told about this plan ahead of time."
He said the decision to actually move Trump to a different jet suggested officials were acting on serious intelligence.
"Overall, the threat must have been substantial and corroborated to conduct the switch/ruse. The highest levels of the government and intelligence agencies (CIA/NSA etc.) would have been involved in analyzing the threat and developing countermeasures."
Robert "Bobby" McDonald, a former senior Secret Service official, said deceptive presidential movements — sometimes referred to as "shell games" — are unusual but a part of the Secret Service playbook when credible intelligence demands extraordinary measures.
McDonald said the Air Force, rather than the Secret Service, is responsible for protecting presidential aircraft and said he believed both planes were likely being monitored.
"I find it hard to believe that those two planes were not being tracked, were not being escorted by other aircraft from either allies or our Air Force," he said. "There's no way in the world that the Secret Service, the White House staff, and the White House military office, were going to let those two planes dangle out there and and and be fending for themselves."
The Pentagon and the Air Force referred questions to the White House.
Trump's move isn't the first time Air Force One aircraft have been put to use to balk potential threats. During President Bill Clinton’s 2000 visit to Pakistan, a marked decoy aircraft arrived first and Secret Service agents disembarked before Clinton landed separately in an unmarked plane.
But the reported Turkey operation differs from many past surprise trips, in which a limited press pool traveled with the president and was sworn to secrecy.
Jake Tapper, who traveled with Obama on a secret trip to Afghanistan, said prior White Houses have used deception to protect presidents but that the reported Turkey operation was different.
"Obviously the life of the president is paramount, and previous White Houses have used deception to protect the president’s life. But no officials I’ve spoken to have ever before heard of using an AF1 full of WH staff and journalists as a decoy during an imminent threat," the CNN anchor said.
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer defended the reported deception as a necessary protective measure if the threat was credible.
"If the WP story about Trump switching planes to return home from Turkey is true, then kudos to the Secret Service, the Air Force and the WH," Fleischer wrote on X. "If there’s a credible threat against any POTUS, their job is to protect him. I’m sorry if the press felt deceived. In an extraordinary situation like that, what was the WH supposed to do? Announce the switch?"
