Dem
47
GOP
53
No wonder the White House was so excited to host the World Cup, as this administration is the world's leading producer of own goals.
We have already written two items about the ill-advised trip that Qatar Force One took to Turkey for the NATO summit (see here and here). As a reminder, Donald Trump used the plane before it was actually properly ready, security-wise. Maybe this was because he is unable to be patient when he has a shiny new toy, maybe it's because he wanted to "prove" it would be usable during his time in office (before becoming the property of the Trump Presidential Library Foundation), maybe both.
While Trump was in Turkey, the Israeli government warned the Secret Service that Iran might try to shoot the
President's plane down. So, Qatar Force One was not used for the presidential trip home. Instead, Trump told a tall tale
about how the Qatari bribe donation was scheduled to take a trip of American military bases in Europe, forcing
him to rely on his "old" plane. He later admitted this was not the truth, and that Air Force One was used because it is
safer, even though he is more than willing to die in the line of duty.
We did not buy 90% of these tales when Trump first started peddling them (click back and see for yourself, if you like). The 10% we did accept is that he returned to the U.S. aboard Air Force One. What fools we were. Per reporting from The Washington Post, Trump did not travel back to the United States on either Qatar Force One or on the usual Air Force One. Instead, he used a third plane (and yes, we know that any plane carrying the sitting president becomes Air Force One as soon as he is on board).
In order to carry off the ruse, very few people were told what was going on. Trump very visibly boarded the old Air Force One, so everyone would "know" he was on board. Then, apparently, he went down to the cargo hold and hid inside a catering truck that is usually used to load and unload food from the plane. The catering truck deplaned without raising suspicions, and covertly delivered Trump to the secret plane. He flew from Turkey to Royal Air Force Mildenhall, which is outside of London, and then boarded the old Air Force One and used that to cross the Atlantic.
Let us point out that, from where we sit, this kind of subterfuge is entirely acceptable. It would be a disaster for the United States if an enemy nation were able to blast Air Force One out of the air, and to kill the sitting president. Admittedly, with some presidents, it would be a greater disaster than with others, but it would be a disaster nonetheless. Anyhow, if the Secret Service felt the ruse was necessary, then their judgment should be trusted.
But now, let's talk about the ways in which it was not acceptable. First, we understand entirely why Trump had to hide in order to switch planes. There are numerous examples of this in other contexts. For example, when the Shah of Iran seized power in a coup in 1953, he snuck into the governmental palace in the trunk of a car. However, just because WE understand doesn't mean that the voters who like Trump for being "macho" will understand. Stowing away in a catering truck is not exactly manly, as far as we can tell.
While we understand the general plan here, our tolerance runs out with the way in which the President handled the matter. There were some White House staffers, as well as many reporters, on board the plane Trump boarded and de-boarded. They were not advised that they were being used as decoys, and so were not given the opportunity to exit the plane and make other arrangements. That is a jerk move. And then, on top of that, Trump (characteristically) told all kinds of lies and falsehoods, including about how willing he is to die for America, even once the ruse was over.
A comparison to another well-known example of this basic ruse is probably instructive here. While Bill Clinton was president, he had to fly in and out of Pakistan, a country where quite a few people are not fans of the United States. And so, he also used the usual Air Force One as a decoy, while traveling on a different plane. However, once the chess game was over, he immediately revealed the subterfuge. Further, and arguably more importantly, the folks on the decoy flight were given a (highly classified) heads up, and thus a choice about whether they were willing to risk their lives or not. That Trump and his team did not extend the same courtesy here is reprehensible.
In the end, it's another case study of an administration that just cannot get out of its own way. The smart thing to do would have been to leave Qatar Force One at home, and to use the safe plane for the trip to Turkey. Once that ship had sailed (plane had flown?), then at least the administration should have been forthright, first with the staffers/reporters who were being used as decoys, and then with the American people. But none of these things happened, with the result that this story has lingered for over a month, has dominated at least five news cycles, and has produced more than one black eye for the White House.
And if the administration can't even do something this simple correctly, then what happens if they have to manage tariff policy, or plan a war, or deal with a pandemic? Oh, wait, guess we already know the answer. (Z)