We’ve been following all the hooraw about President Trump’s subterfuge with his departure from Turkey on an alternate aircraft while the usual Air Force One proceeded without him. This kind of thing has happened before. It’s a standard security measure against real or possible threats, and we know now that the call was made by the Secret Service, not the president or his administration.
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Now, the administration has revealed who was on which flight.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were on a decoy flight last month when President Trump secretly took a different plane from the publicly identified Air Force One aircraft from the NATO summit, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the secret flight with Mr. Trump out of Turkey. White House aides Natalie Harp, Walt Nauta and Dan Scavino were also on catering truck and the flight with Mr. Trump.
This all seems pretty standard security practice under the circumstances. If there had been an incident, the one person that the president would most want to have on the same plane would be the Secretary of War. Also, the separation maintains the line of succession:
Rubio and Bessent, who separated and maintained the line of succession, were aware the president was on another, secret plane. Several other White House aides were on the decoy flight, including Stephen Miller, Will Scharf, Steven Cheung, Mike Needham, Ross Worthington and Monica Crowley.
While the plane the president is traveling on is supposed to be identified as Air Force One, the decoy flight was publicly identified as Air Force One.
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Also, a sensible step, in case their communications were somehow compromised.
Read More: Trump’s Air Force One ‘Decoy’ Fooled the Press. Good. That Was the Point.
Trump Just Nuked the Media’s ‘Decoy Plane’ Narrative Into Oblivion
This was a decision made at a moment’s notice, prompted by a possible threat. And, as such, it was handled properly. The presidential line of succession was secured. The one cabinet member that President Trump would have needed the most in the event of an attack was on the alternate aircraft. The press in the aircraft that was nominally Air Force One was unaware of the subterfuge, which is exactly the state of affairs that should have obtained. The press, especially the legacy media, notorious for their lack of regard for President Trump, just plain didn’t need to know what was going on until the president and his cabinet members were safely back in the USA.
Sometimes this is simply the way things have to be. There’s an apocryphal story from World War II, attributed to Admiral Halsey, when before a major operation he was asked by an aide, “What shall we tell the press?” Halsey reportedly replied, “Tell them nothing. When it’s over, tell them who won.”
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That’s exactly what happened here. The president’s life and well-being are paramount. Arrangements like this have been made before. Decisions like this have been made on the fly before. They will be again. And, if that’s what it takes to ensure the safety of the President of the United States, then that’s what has to be done. It’s as simple as that.
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