Air Force One ruse calls into question Trump’s safety abroad
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- Secret Service orchestrated a ruse to fly President Trump off his planned aircraft during last month's NATO summit in Turkey, citing an assassination threat from Iran as the trigger.
- Trump departed Ankara on an alternate aircraft rather than Air Force One because of the threat, according to The Washington Post's reporting.
- The episode is raising fresh questions about the adequacy of presidential protection protocols during foreign travel.
Why it matters: For the Secret Service, ordering a last-minute aircraft swap at a NATO summit indicates the Iran threat was deemed credible and urgent enough to override standard presidential movement protocol. For Trump's future overseas travel, it raises the prospect that more elaborate deception tactics could become routine at allied gatherings.
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