The Secret Service routinely uses elaborate deception tactics to protect US presidents, according to former agents and experts. These measures include decoy vehicles, aircraft switches, and other tricks designed to confuse potential attackers.
On 8 July, President Donald Trump was reportedly secretly moved from Air Force One to a military C-32A aircraft during his departure from a Nato summit in Turkey. The decoy plane, which continued to RAF Mildenhall in the UK, carried unwitting passengers who had no idea the president was no longer aboard.
Such deception is not unusual, said Ronald Kessler, an author who has written extensively about the Secret Service. "There's a long history of strategies to mislead anybody who might be trying to harm the president," he told the BBC.
Robert McDonald, a former high-ranking Secret Service agent, explained that smaller-scale deceptions are common during motorcade operations. These convoys typically include two "Beasts" — the presidential limousine — with one serving as a decoy that switches positions with the real vehicle en route. "It's what we call a shell game," McDonald said, who drove one of these vehicles during George W. Bush's administration.
Similarly, Marine One helicopters often fly in groups of three, changing positions to obscure which one carries the president. For high-risk trips abroad, even more elaborate measures are taken, such as using unmarked aircraft or staging decoy flights.
Historical examples include Bill Clinton's 2000 flight to Pakistan on an unmarked jet after a decoy plane with Air Force One livery, and George W. Bush's surprise 2003 Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad aboard a blacked-out Air Force One. In 2023, Joe Biden was secretly taken to Ukraine with a minimal press pool.
In the latest incident, the exact nature of the threat remains unclear. The Secret Service has not commented, and the White House has neither confirmed nor denied the report, saying only that it uses every available tool to protect the president.
McDonald suggested the extraordinary measure indicates a serious threat level in Turkey. "That tells me that the threat level in Turkey was relatively substantial and quite high," he said, adding that a plan was likely devised to counter the intelligence received.
Marc Polymeropoulos, a 26-year CIA veteran, echoed this assessment, questioning what was so severe that such a deception operation was necessary. He also raised the issue of whether the government had a duty to warn those on the decoy aircraft, noting that if a known threat could harm American citizens, warnings are typically issued.
Journalists on the decoy plane were instructed to keep their window blinds down, a practice McDonald said is protective. "A large plane flying overhead where somebody could see it, with the shades up and windows illuminated, could tell somebody that it's a particular type of aircraft," he explained.
The Secret Service is not legally obligated to inform passengers of potential threats or detail its operations, McDonald said. "The Secret Service is not in the business of public relations," he added. "We're very good at keeping secrets, as our name says. Everybody doesn't need to know everything."
Source: BBC News
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