Former Secret Service Agents: Trump’s Secret Plane Swap Unusual, Not Unprecedentedhttps://time.com/article/2026/08/11/trump-secret-plane-swap-Turkey-UK-Secret-Service-Air-Force-One/In 2000, President Bill Clinton secretly switched to an unmarked plane for a trip to Pakistan. At least one member of the White House pool, a reporter covering the trip for USA Today, was briefed on the operation beforehand, according to The Washington Post.
On the secrecy around the maneuver in Turkey—with even journalists traveling with Trump left in the dark—McDonald said limiting the circle of those informed is standard practice, especially now. “We're in a time now where instantaneous news articles are going out—TikTok, Instagram, Facebook,” he said. “That doesn't help the plan that the Secret Service needs to implement.”
Despite the
"Not Unprecedented" in the article title, the info about the precedent involving President Clinton is buried almost at the bottom of the article. How unsurprising.
The article also omits a - or
THE - major reason the reporters were not informed. MSM "reporters" hate Trump so much that it would not have been a question of
whether the switch was leaked, but of
how many would have leaked it.
