Trump left government members inside Air Force One that was acting as bait in the face of the threat of an Iranian attack
The US president avoids taking responsibility for decisions made by the secret service: "I have to do what they say"
WashingtonThe journalists accompanying the US President, Donald Trump, on the return flight from Turkey were not the only ones who remained inside Air Force One threatened while the Republican secretly took another plane.Members of the US government were on board the decoy aircraft, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to US government sources revealed to the "New York Times.Normally, when the US president boards one of the White House's various jets, it officially becomes Air Force One. But on this occasion, when the Republican clandestinely left the old Boeing to board Air Force C-32, the name was not changed. Even though Trump was not on board the aircraft, the old model continued to be called Air Force One so that it would act as a decoy for the Iranians.
In addition to Rubio and Bessent, other administration members were also on the decoy plane: Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller; Communications Director Steven Cheung; Personnel Secretary Will Scharf; Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Needham, and Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Walters, as well as White House staff teams. Journalists and some government members who remained on the old Air Force One did not know that the president had left through the back door with the catering truck. It is unclear whether senior officials like Rubio, Bessent, or Miller had been informed of the situation.
This morning, Miller entered the White House avoiding answering reporters' questions about the revelation of the secret service operation and the decision to expose them all to the threat of a possible attack. Trump had already confirmed the existence of the mission yesterday and disassociated himself from its management. yesterday the existence of the mission and disassociated himself from its management. "I am guided by the secret service and the military. They wanted me to take a different flight, a different plane," the tycoon told reporters. "I just have to do what they tell me," he insisted yesterday as unease grew over the decision to leave so many people on Air Force One threatened by the Iranians.
The US administration has not yet provided details about the threat in question, but government officials have revealed to the New York Times that they detected a "specific threat stating that a surface-to-air missile should be launched against Air Force One". Furthermore, according to the same outlet, the president's security received a warning that a person had been seen "around the NATO summit with a portable missile launcher on their shoulder".
All in all, it was enough for the secret service to launch the operation. After Trump had suffered three assassination attempts, the effectiveness of the security forces has been called into question on several occasions. Thus, the security forces decided to transfer the magnate to Air Force C-32, where he flew accompanied by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
This Thursday, it became known that, unlike the secret service, the CIA had "little confidence" in the possibility that the Iranian threat would be fulfilled. US officials have explained to the Washington Post that initially intelligence services had been skeptical about the warning, which had been given by Israel.
It was Tel Aviv who transmitted the assassination threat to the CIA, and according to the same newspaper, officials saw "low credibility" in the information. Some intelligence officials believed that the warning sent by Israel, rather than wanting to inform, sought to influence Trump's decisions and his policy in the region regarding Iranians.
The White House spokeswoman leaves
Coinciding with the controversial operation, yesterday White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced she was stepping down to dedicate herself to her family. The press secretary, the youngest in history at 28 years old, recently had her second child and had already been on maternity leave. Trump was the one who initially announced her departure and has not yet proposed a name to replace her at the end of the month, when she officially leaves office.
Leavitt's departure is not surprising given the high regard the tycoon has for her. Although it also coincides with a time when the president's unpopularity is at historic highs and polls predict that Republicans will lose control of Congress.