The recent report by The Washington Post regarding Donald Trump’s secret departure from Turkey in July—where he traveled on a military aircraft while the public was led to believe he remained on the traditional Air Force One due to Iranian security threats—is not an unprecedented maneuver. A quarter-century earlier, President Bill Clinton employed a comparable strategy to ensure his safety during a high-stakes visit to Pakistan.
In 2000, as Clinton traveled from India to Pakistan, he utilized an unmarked plane that trailed the standard Air Force One. The deception became public only upon his arrival, when he stepped off the second aircraft to begin a six-hour visit defined by intense security measures. Unlike modern instances of total secrecy, the Clinton administration maintained the established custom of briefing the White House press corps on the president’s actual movements.
As the president of the White House Correspondents Association at the time and a reporter for, I was privy to these arrangements. Before our departure from Bombay, officials pulled me aside for an off-the-record briefing regarding the extraordinary security protocols. We reviewed the risks facing the small group of journalists assigned to the primary Air Force One, as well as the larger contingent of media members traveling on a separate chartered plane that arrived in Islamabad ahead of the presidential fleet.
The tradition of keeping a small press pool with the president during travel is a standard practice that ensures independent oversight of the commander-in-chief’s well-being, a role that becomes critical during periods of crisis. While I was aboard the press plane and aware of the switch, the rest of the world remained in the dark until the president emerged from the unmarked aircraft. This system of transparency, though sometimes met with reluctance by the White House, serves as a vital check on presidential movements and public accountability.