Inside the Secret Service 'shell game' to hide US presidents in plain sight

**Secret Service's "Shell Game": How US Presidents Are Hidden in Plain Sight**

**Was Donald Trump Secretly Removed from Air Force One in a Catering Truck?**

On July 8, US President Donald Trump was seen boarding Air Force One in Turkey, departing the Nato summit. However, reports suggest that after the Boeing aircraft left Ankara, the president was secretly transferred via a catering truck to a C-32A, a military version of the Boeing 757, which then flew him to RAF Mildenhall in the UK. Those remaining on Air Force One were reportedly unaware of Trump's absence, serving as unwitting decoys.

This type of deception is not uncommon, according to Ronald Kessler, an author who has written extensively on the Secret Service. "That's very common," Kessler stated. "There's a long history of strategies to mislead anybody who might be trying to harm the president."

Robert McDonald, a former high-ranking Secret Service agent with experience in presidential security, informed the BBC that smaller-scale deceptions are frequently employed during motorcade operations. These motorcades, often comprising numerous security and support vehicles, ambulances, and vans carrying White House reporters, typically include two "Beasts"—the enhanced limousine carrying the president. One vehicle transports the president, while the other acts as a decoy, switching positions en route.

"It's what we call a shell game," explained McDonald, who drove one of these vehicles during the Bush administration. "Even in DC if we headed to Andrews [Joint Base Andrews - where Air Force One flies from], those two limousines would change position, like under a highway overpass." He added, "But that would happen out of sight of anybody other than those in the motorcade or in that tunnel. Different things are used to mix up the bad guy." The order of vehicles in the president's motorcade is often altered during travel.

Similarly, Marine One, the president's helicopter, routinely flies in groups of three, changing positions to obscure which helicopter carries the US leader from potential threats.

More elaborate deceptions are implemented for complex, high-risk international trips. Former Secret Service agent Paul Eckloff told the BBC World Service's Newshour program that while an aircraft switch "does not happen often," it remains "an option that the Secret Service and others in executive protection always have." He added, "When the president travels to war zones, there are frequently tactics and techniques used to create doubt in an adversary of which aircraft or which movement that he's going to make."

For instance, in March 2000, then-President Bill Clinton flew from India to Islamabad, Pakistan, on an unmarked executive jet, landing after a decoy jet bearing Air Force One livery. Three years later, the White House announced President George W. Bush would spend Thanksgiving in Texas, only for him to arrive in Baghdad in a blacked-out Air Force One. In 2023, Joe Biden was also secretly transported to Ukraine with a reduced press pool of one reporter and one photographer. In all three of these instances, the accompanying media was aware of the deception but requested not to report it in real time.

The C-32A carrying Trump landed at RAF Mildenhall. The precise nature of the perceived threat in this latest incident remains unclear. The Secret Service has not commented, and the White House has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, stating only that it utilizes all available tools to protect the president.

Experts suggest that while contingency plans are developed, the Secret Service must maintain flexibility and be prepared to improvise in response to new threats, especially overseas. McDonald believes that the extraordinary measure of secretly moving President Trump from the aircraft indicates that the potential danger was deemed serious, likely by multiple agencies.

"That tells me that the threat level in Turkey was relatively substantial and quite high," McDonald said, noting that the president's staff, the Secret Service, and the White House Military Office were almost certainly immediately alerted. "Those people likely got together in a room and were presented with this intelligence," McDonald explained. "And a plan was put together to negate the threat from whatever intelligence was received."

Marc Polymeropoulos, a 26-year CIA veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and oversaw clandestine missions, echoed McDonald's assessment. "The key part of this is the nature of the threat, and what was so severe that the Secret Service would put forth such a deception operation," he stated.

A crucial question, according to Polymeropoulos, is whether the government and intelligence community had a duty to warn those on the aircraft. "Let's say the plane was blown out of the sky, and we knew about it," he posited. "We don't do that…we can't. If we know ISIS is going to attack a target in Moscow, we warn the Russians. Why do we warn the Russians? Because if there's an American citizen killed in that, we can't let that happen."

The extent of danger faced by those who remained on the aircraft, or if they were in danger at all, is still unknown. Journalists on board reported repeated instructions to keep their window blinds down, a practice McDonald described as "not uncommon" and indicative of ongoing efforts to protect passengers. "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 said. "I appreciate the need for transparency, but [the passengers] are also part of the roadshow. We've got to make sure that you and everybody gets home safe."

McDonald added that the Secret Service is under no legal obligation to disclose potential threats or detail protective operations. Such decisions would rest with the White House or other agencies. "The Secret Service is not in the business of public relations," he asserted. "We're very good at keeping secrets, as our name says. Everybody doesn't need to know everything."

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