BONUS POD: Presidential Disappearing Act that Left Reporters Stunned Amid an Iranian Assassination Threat

A reported Iranian assassination threat against Donald Trump led to an extraordinary security operation following a NATO summit in Turkey, according to new reporting discussed in this episode. The account describes a complex deception involving multiple aircraft, a decoy Air Force One, and an effort to conceal the president’s actual movements from potential adversaries.The story has sparked debate over presidential security, government secrecy, and the seriousness of threats directed at the commander in chief. The hosts argue that the operation demonstrates the extent of the risks facing the president and highlights the challenges involved in protecting national leaders from foreign threats.

In this episode Ben examines reporting from the Washington Post describing how security officials allegedly moved Donald Trump from a publicly observed aircraft to a separate military jet using an airport catering truck as part of a broader deception plan. They discuss the reported Iranian threat, media reaction to the operation, the role of secrecy in presidential protection, and the broader national security implications raised by the incident.

Topics Covered:

• Reported Iranian assassination threat against Donald Trump
• Security operation following the NATO summit in Turkey
• Use of a decoy Air Force One aircraft and alternate transport methods
• Reporting from the Washington Post and coverage by CNN
• Debate over secrecy, deception, and presidential security protocols
• Broader concerns about Iran and U.S. national security

The Bottom Line: Ben Ferguson argues that the reported operation demonstrates how seriously U.S. security officials viewed the threat environment surrounding Donald Trump and defends the use of secrecy and deception as necessary tools for presidential protectionPlease Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast and Verdict with Ted Cruz Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Anybody who's looking at this carefully realizes that there's a
distinct anti science flavor to this. So if they get
up and criticize science, they're really criticizing science because I
represent science. What I was doing was saying, here the
data of why vaccines are safe and effective, so we

(00:24):
should be getting people vaccinating.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
And you're listening to the forty seven Morning Update with
Ben ferguson.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Good Tuesday morning at Science. Have you with us on
the forty seven Morning Update, and we've got one truly
unbelievable story for you. President Trump, it's now being reported,
was secretly rushed out of Turkey hiding in a catering
truck as Air Force one became a decoy, all because
of a credible Iranian assassination threat. I've got the stunning

(00:53):
details for you. It's the forty seven Morning Update and
it starts right now.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Story number one.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
What we're learning this morning about this security thread against
President Donald Trump is absolutely extraordinary because, according to new
reporting from the Washington Post investigation, the threat from Iran
became so serious that the United States carried out an
elaborate deception to secretly get the president out of Turkey

(01:21):
and This may sound like something out of a spy movie.
The Washington Post is now reporting that this happened on
July eighth, after President Trump attended the NATO summit. Now,
according to the report, there was a credible Iranian assassination
threat against the president, and American security officials apparently decided
they were not going to take any chances, so they

(01:44):
created a decoy. Insert the spy movie right now. President
Trump was seen publicly boarding the older Boeing seven forty
seven used as Air Force one. Cameron saw him get
on the plane. Reporters believed he was on the plane.
Even some White House staff apparently believed the President was

(02:04):
on that aircraft, But according to the Washington Posts, that
wasn't what actually happened. Trump was secretly moved from the
seven forty seven Air Force one and transport across the airport.
In something nobody would expect the President of the United
States would be riding in an airport catering truck, that

(02:27):
kind of vehicle normally used to load food and supplies
onto an airplane. If you fly often you see that
truck pulled up right when you're walking on the plane,
bringing on well drinks and beverages and food and taking
away old beverages and trash and whatever else. That is
how they moved the president. Now, that catering vehicle reportedly

(02:49):
transport the president to a completely different aircraft that was
an air Force C thirty two, a the smaller military
jet commonly associated with senior government travel. Then we're told
that Trump secretly departed Turkey aboard that aircraft while the
seven forty seven effectively served as a decoy. Now, I

(03:10):
want you to think about the level of planning involved here.
You have television cameras watching one airplane, You have journalists
aboard that airplane. You have the White House personnel aboard
that airplane as well, And meanwhile, the President of the
United States is being quietly transported across the airport on
the tarmac in a catering truck to board another military

(03:35):
aircraft because officials are so concerned about the potential Iranian
threat against his life. Now, the Washington Post reporting also
sets that Trump's actual aircraft flew to RAF Mildenhall in Britain. Reuters,
citing the Post reporting, says the extraordinary security operation was

(03:55):
considered a credible Iranian assassination threat and Here's what makes
the story even more remarkable. At the time, the public
explanation was completely different. Trump had said he was using
the older Air Force one, essentially quote for old time's sake.
When reporters asked whether the Iranian threats were behind the

(04:17):
unusual travel arrangements, Trump dismissed that idea, and he explained
that the plane change and he just said he'd pointed
out that the threats against him were nothing new. He
said Iran had him at the top of its list.
Here's how CNN also reported the breaking news story to
their audience. From Anderson Cooper, good evening from the newsroom.

Speaker 4 (04:40):
We begin with a remarkable new twist to a story
already full of them new reporting in the Washington Post
about the president's return from the Neto summit in Turkey,
which already included a change of planes with the President,
or so we thought, taking his old Blue seven forty
seven for the first leg of the trip instead of
this new Katari gift read seven, which he boarded for

(05:01):
the second leg from England back to the US. Now,
we were told at the time it was to give
troops in England a better look at the new plane,
which had left Turkey earlier. That wasn't true, and everybody
knew it wasn't true at the time. The switch was
for security reasons, and now the Post is reporting that
the threat was so severe there was a second switch
onto a third plane. The President was not on this

(05:24):
plane at all. Instead, according to the Post, even as
members of the press were boarding from the rear door,
the President, who we just showed you climbing the front steps,
was leaving the plane leaving on one of these quoting
now from the Post, he was secretly shuttled minutes later
to a smaller plane, an Air Force C THIR two

(05:44):
to a via, an airport catering truck typically used to
load meals and other supplies pre flight, according to US
official and corroberating material reviewed by the Post, the Post
ask the White House for comment. The White House instead
provided a statement about the new seven to forty sive
Evans quote, the new Air Force one is a state
of the art aircraft that has been fitted with high
level security protocols and ensured the safety of the President

(06:07):
his staff. As the President had said recently, there are
many enemies of America who have their sights on him,
and we use every tool at our disposal to address
those threats.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
This is the part that I absolutely love. We have
a president of United States of America. The dozen cancel
the trip and the security around him. They do it
amazingly well to protect the president of the United States
of America. Now you notice how Anderson Cooper there says
we all knew that this was absurd a month ago.

(06:37):
Well then why didn't you say something about it. Of
course they're angry that they got duped by the security
team of the president, that they were on the plane
and the President wasn't actually there. Now a month later,
we're all learning how sophisticated the security operation actually was.
And regardless by the way of your politics, and I
would say this specifically to Anderson Cooper should understand the

(07:01):
significance of this. Iran has repeatedly been accused by American
officials of plotting to assassinate US officials, including our president.
Now we're talking about security concerns serious enough that the
commander in chief's movements were disguised. Air Force one was

(07:21):
reportedly used as a decoy, and the president was moved
through an airport in a catering vehicle. That's not routine
presidential security. That's an extraordinary precaution designed around one objective
to make sure anyone potentially watching does not know where
the president actually is. And God bless our men and

(07:42):
women who protect our president. And there's also another important
issue here as well. Some people are going to look
at this story and ask why the White House didn't
tell the truth publicly at the time. You can hear
the disdain in the voice of Anderson Cooper there. Well,
you should know where the media well the president. And
security is one of those situations where secrecy and deception

(08:04):
can be a part of the protection itself, and I'm
glad they did it. You don't announce the president's real
location while you're trying to conceal it from a potential
adversary who has publicly said they want to kill the
president and are planning to do it if they can.
You don't tell the world which airplane is actually a board,
and you certainly don't explain your security protocol in real time,

(08:26):
even to the elitist media.

Speaker 1 (08:28):
Now.

Speaker 3 (08:28):
The Washington Post reporting also suggests that the deception went
remarkably well, right down to people traveling with the president
and not necessarily knowing what was even happening for those
around the president in his own entourage. Again, I love this,
and that's what also tells you something else. This is
how big of a threat Iran is to the US

(08:51):
and to the president of United States of America. There
are real threats and environments around this president that no
other president has ever had to deal with. So we've
become accustomed to hearing about threats against Donald Trump more
than any other president in my lifetime. And the sad
part is the way the media has dealt with all
of these assassination attempts of the president is they want

(09:13):
you to just become numb to the language so that
it's just background noise. This should not be background noise.
The president, well, he did the right thing by making
sure that he was safe, those around him did the
right thing, and having him transport through foreign airports and
catering trucks. That's truly genius. The air forverse one doesn't

(09:33):
become a decoy for no reason, and the President of
the United States doesn't secretly leave a NATO summit aboard
another military aircraft unless the people responsible for protecting President
Trump believe there's a real reason to take these truly
extraordinary precautions, which goes back to the issue with Iran.
Why on earth would anyone think that Iran could be

(09:55):
trusted with a nuclear weapon? And that's what makes US
Washington Post report for me so stunning. The headline isn't
simply that Donald Trump changed airplanes. The headline is that
American security officials believe the Iranian threat was so serious.
It was serious enough to create an elaborate, presential disappearing act,

(10:16):
hiding the Commander in chief's actual movements from virtually everyone watching.
And the best part about it is this, it worked.

Speaker 2 (10:24):
Thank you for listening to the forty seven Morning Update
with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever
you're listening to this podcast right now and for more
in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast
and we will see you back here tomorrow.