Trump's secretive Turkey exit revives Clinton's ruse in Pak. But there's a contrast

Donald Trump's secret plane switch in Turkey, prompted by an Iranian threat, has echoes of Bill Clinton's 2000 Pakistan trip, when a similar decoy aircraft was used to conceal the President's movements.

In Short

• Trump secretly moved from Air Force One in Turkey due to Iranian assassination threat
• Decoy plane used to mislead press, similar to Clinton's 2000 Pakistan ruse
• Reporters unaware of switch until Trump acknowledged security risks

When the reporters boarded on Air Force One, they thought US President Donald Trump was on board too. The window shades were down. The plane prepared to leave Turkey after a high-stakes NATO summit. But Trump and several of his aides were moved across the airport inside an aircraft catering truck. The unusual transfer allowed them to leave the presidential aircraft without being seen from the other side.

According to The Washington Post, he had secretly been moved to a military aircraft after a credible Iranian assassination threat, leaving the larger jet to serve as a decoy.

The operation has echoes of a similar deception used by Bill Clinton during his 2000 visit to Pakistan.

But the two US Presidential ruses had a significant difference.

CLINTON'S 2000 PAKISTAN RUSE

Former US President Bill Clinton's visit to Pakistan in March 2000 involved a strikingly similar deception. A decoy aircraft carrying all the markings of Air Force One landed in Islamabad in full view of the news media.

A Secret Service agent who resembled Clinton emerged from the aircraft, reported The WaPo.

The real president, however, was not aboard.

An unmarked aircraft landed separately.

Clinton then emerged from that aircraft.

Susan Page, who was then a White House reporter for USA Today and president of the White House Correspondents' Association, was among a small group of journalists who knew about the operation.

Before Clinton travelled from India to Pakistan, White House officials summoned Page for an off-the-record briefing. White House press and security officials explained the extraordinary measures being taken because of the dangers surrounding the trip.

They also told her about the use of the decoy aircraft.

"They told me about the extraordinary security procedures being taken because of the dangers in flying there, including use of the decoy plane," Page said in messages with The WaPo.

"Of course, the dangers threatened the journalists covering the trip as well as President Clinton."

That briefing meant at least one journalist travelling with Clinton knew that the President would not actually be aboard the aircraft appearing to be Air Force One.

Page, now USA Today's Washington bureau chief, had never discussed the episode in detail because of the off-the-record agreement she had made with the Clinton White House. More than 25 years later, she said she believed enough time had passed to talk about what happened.

"But since more than a quarter-century has passed -- and since the ruse became evident as soon as President Clinton disembarked in Pakistan -- I think it's OK for me to relay it now."

The episode provides an important point of comparison with Trump's recent departure from Turkey. Both operations relied on deception to conceal the President's actual location.

But the way the press was treated was totally different.

TRUMP'S SECRET PLANE SWITCH

Trump's operation in Turkey was considerably more elaborate.

As per The WaPo, Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newly renovated Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar. When it was time for him to leave, however, the White House indicated that he would depart aboard the older aircraft that had previously served as Air Force One.

Trump himself had said he planned to use the older plane "for old time's sake".

Cameras captured Trump arriving at the Ankara airport in a limousine. He was then seen boarding the familiar blue-and-white Boeing 747. He waved goodbye before the aircraft appeared to prepare for departure. But the departure was apparently part of a much larger deception. The Post reported that the Qatar-provided Boeing had already left Turkey earlier that evening.

Trump was instead moved to a smaller C-32A military aircraft.

The C-32A is a modified Boeing 757 used to transport senior US government officials. The aircraft is typically associated with the Air Force Two call sign when carrying the US Vice-President. Trump and several aides were transferred to the smaller aircraft using an airport catering truck. The truck was positioned alongside the larger Boeing.

Its container was then raised hydraulically to the level of an aircraft door. That allowed Trump and his aides to leave the presidential aircraft without being easily seen by people on the other side.

As per The Washington Post, the truck moving across the airport tarmac towards the C-32A.

For a brief period, the vehicle disappeared from view as cameras focused elsewhere on the airport. A person in a suit was later seen leaving the vehicle and climbing the stairs into the smaller military aircraft. The elaborate manoeuvre allowed Trump to leave Turkey without openly revealing which aircraft was carrying him.

The larger Boeing remained part of the deception. It provided the appearance that he was travelling with the journalists and other passengers aboard the plane.

REPORTERS DID NOT KNOW TRUMP HAD LEFT

Reporters remained inside the larger aircraft while Trump travelled separately. At that point, the journalists apparently believed they were travelling with Trump.

The journalists only began to realise that something unusual had happened after Trump was questioned about the security precautions surrounding the flight.

Trump admitted that he faced a threat.

"Well, I have a threat all the time. I'm number one on their list, before you," Trump responded.

"But if I go, you go. Right? Perhaps someday you want to change professions."

The disclosure then triggered a scramble among White House reporters for more information. NBC chief White House correspondent Garrett Haake wrote on X that journalists were seeking answers.

"We (and no doubt every other newsroom in Washington) are asking the White House and sources for more info," Haake wrote.

ABC's Michelle Stoddart, who was the TV pool producer aboard the flight, later shared additional details with members of the White House Correspondents' Association following The Post's report.

"Upon arrival to the airport, the events did not seem particularly out of the ordinary to the travel pool," she wrote.

"Our photographer noted that the stairs were quickly pulled away as the press loaded."

Stoddart also said that a photographer sitting behind her opened a window shade while aboard the aircraft. A White House staffer quickly instructed the photographer to close it.

The staffer said it was a "request from Secret Service".

WHY THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS POOL MATTERS

The controversy also highlights why the White House press pool exists in the first place. The system is designed to ensure that journalists are present to independently observe the President's movements and activities.

The formal press pool system has existed since 1937. Its roots, however, go back much further.

After President James Garfield was shot in 1881, Associated Press reporter Franklin Trusdell remained outside the President's room. He monitored Garfield's condition and shared updates with his colleagues.

The modern press pool serves a similar purpose.

A rotating group of journalists accompanies the US President and provides reports, photographs and footage of presidential activities to the wider press corps. Those journalists effectively serve as the eyes and ears of the public when the president is travelling.

The system is intended to ensure that there is an independent record of where the president is and what he is doing.

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS SECURITY MEASURES

The White House has defended its approach by pointing to the threats facing Trump.

"As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats," White House Communications Director Steven Cheung previously told The Washington Post.

The administration has not publicly disclosed the full details of the Iranian threat that reportedly prompted the operation.

The secrecy surrounding such threats is understandable.

Presidential security officials routinely keep sensitive information from public view to prevent adversaries from learning how the president is protected.

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