Trump 'Decoy Air Force One' Controversy... U.S. Press Corps Demands White House Action

After it was revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump secretly switched airplanes to avoid an Iranian assassination threat, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) called on the White House to implement emergency security measures.

Reuters Yonhap News

On the 12th (local time), CNN reported that Jackie Heinrich—the WHCA president and Fox News anchor—had discussed the matter with President Trump’s aides and conveyed the concerns of the press pool regarding the secret aircraft-swapping method.

Previously, the Washington Post (WP) reported that President Trump had executed a decoy operation using an official presidential aircraft to evade an Iranian assassination threat. On July 8, after attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, President Trump left Ankara, Türkiye aboard a U.S. Air Force C-32A aircraft instead of Air Force One.

At that time, President Trump boarded a vintage Air Force One in front of reporters and cameras, then, within minutes, hid in the container of an in-flight catering truck and slipped out, switching to the waiting C-32A nearby. Members of the White House press corps and some staff, unaware that President Trump had switched planes, boarded the original aircraft. Notably, even though President Trump was not aboard, the plane continued flying under the presidential call sign “Air Force One.” WP pointed out that this essentially served as a decoy to divert Iran’s attention.

CNN noted that after this incident, the WHCA received concerns from its members regarding journalist safety, the independent maintenance of records of the president’s movements, and the reliability of pooled coverage reports.

In a memo sent to members, Heinrich said that she held a “frank and productive meeting” with the White House to relay such concerns. The contents of the meeting were kept private, and the White House has yet to answer various questions about the secret aircraft swap. Heinrich emphasized that this matter is directly tied to the credibility of the White House.

Heinrich acknowledged that the Secret Service’s responsibility to prioritize the president’s protection—and the need for exceptional measures such as restricting real-time information disclosure in the event of an actual security threat—can sometimes require exceptions, but she stressed that “independent media access to the president and the accurate recording of presidential movements must also be maintained.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.