@washingtonpost: In March 2000, President Clinton used a decoy plane for security in Pakistan, a tactic echoed by President Trump in Turkey amid an Iranian threat. But unlike July’s flight, the press corps was briefed on the operation and its dangers. Susan Page, now USA Today’s Washington bureau chief, declined to comment on the newly revealed incident but broke a decades-old agreement with the Clinton White House to describe her experience. The White House press pool consists of a rotating group of journalists who send reports, photos and footage of the president’s activities for the entire press corps. This formal system has existed since 1937, designed to ensure that someone from the press is present to observe the president’s movements and activities. Former CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr said that the press fully understands and respects the security requirements of covering the president. But, she said, “there will be a level of distrust now that we have not seen before … their own lives were potentially at risk without them even knowing it, without them having the option of making a different choice of how to get home.” Jacqui Heinrich, current president of the WHCA, declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the operation’s impact on the journalists aboard the decoy plane. “As the President has 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,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung previously told The Post. More from The Washington Post at the link in our bio. #trump#airforceone#clinton

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Tuesday 11 August 2026 19:17:55 GMT