Trump’s Security Chief Says Plane Ruse Breach Is Regrettable
US Secret Service Director Sean Curran said it’s regrettable that a ruse to secretly switch President Donald Trump’s plane for a flight out of Turkey came to light, saying publicity about the maneuver risks making it harder to use the tactic again.
The switch occurred July 8 as Trump departed Turkey following a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit. He publicly boarded Air Force One in Ankara before secretly leaving the aircraft and traveling aboard a smaller Air Force C-32A, according to the Washington Post. Journalists, White House staff and other government officials aboard Air Force One were left with the impression that Trump was traveling with them.
“Look, that’s not the first time we’ve done that,” Curran said in a clip from an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes set to air Sunday. “We wish that wasn’t reported because that takes some of our tactics away from being able to do something similar again.”
A Secret Service spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Trump confirmed the switch on Aug. 11, saying the Secret Service and military had directed him to use another aircraft because of a security threat. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it,” Trump told reporters.
The Post reported that the maneuver was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump.
The president said at the time that he knew little about the specific threat. “I guess there was a threat out there, I didn’t really ask too much about it,” he said. “I get a lot of threats.”
Curran didn’t say when the Secret Service had previously used similar aircraft deception or under what circumstances.
In 2000, then-President Bill Clinton secretly flew aboard an unmarked aircraft between India and Pakistan because of security concerns while others traveled aboard the traditional Air Force One. A small group of White House reporters was briefed in advance, according to the Post.
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