00:00to a smaller military jet while leaving Turkey last month.
00:03Sources now say the move was triggered by a credible threat that an Iranian-linked cell
00:07could target the president's aircraft with a shoulder-fired missile.
00:11Intelligence also indicated Iranian operatives may have known Trump's exact location inside his Ankara hotel.
00:18So President Trump and a small group of aides were moved to a C-32A military aircraft
00:23while Air Force One took off without him as a decoy.
00:27Trump has since confirmed the switch, saying the Secret Service and military determined it was necessary to protect his life.
00:34Trump's security team has used decoy tactics before, including during the 2024 campaign
00:40when he was reportedly moved onto a decoy plane amid concerns again over Iranian assassination threats.
00:47Trump also routinely travels with decoy helicopters, with identical aircraft flying alongside Marine One
00:53to obscure which helicopter is carrying him.
00:56The elaborate decoy operation used to get the commander-in-chief out of Turkey is not without precedent.
01:04Precedents have used similar deception tactics before when facing serious security threats.
01:09Yes, such as this.
01:10In 2000, then-President Bill Clinton reportedly used a decoy aircraft during a trip to Pakistan.
01:16U.S. officials say Air Force One has served as a decoy on other occasions over the past three decades.
01:22Joining us now, Charles Marino is a former Homeland Security Department advisor and former Secret Service special agent.
01:29And Barry Donatio is a national security analyst and former U.S. Secret Service emergency response team
01:34under the Bush and Obama administrations.
01:36Good morning, gentlemen.
01:38Morning.
01:39Charles, we heard the president say the Secret Service told him that there was a credible threat, and he listened.
01:45He said he understood that it was necessary for him to switch planes here.
01:49But how unusual is it to alter the president's transportation, especially this dramatically?
01:55We heard of a few other instances, but this seems to be pretty unique.
02:01Well, we're certainly at a heightened threat environment around the world, including here in the United States.
02:07And so all options are on the table for the Secret Service when it comes to protecting the president.
02:14Intelligence is a critical piece of the job that the Secret Service does.
02:20We don't know the exact timing of how and when this intelligence came in or how long it was vetted
02:27for and confirmed to be credible.
02:31But what I can tell you is that all of these operational components, all of these resources and all of
02:39these tactics,
02:40including disinformation and deception, by the way, are meant to keep adversaries on their heels,
02:47those that wish to do the president and his administration harm.
02:52So here we saw one of those options utilized and correctly so.
02:58So, Barry, what do you make of the what seems to be a lot of backlash in the press saying
03:03that everybody else who was actually on Air Force One,
03:06including the press pool, were like sitting ducks and they were in danger?
03:10What do you make of that? Were they in any danger? And what do you make of the backlash?
03:16Great to be with you. Great to be with Charles again.
03:18And I would say no, because that aircraft is protected not only by the U.S. Air Force,
03:23but the Secret Service, as well as our Turkish allies, which would stop at nothing to protect that plane.
03:29The last thing they would want is the Trump's Air Force One to get harmed in their sovereign airspace.
03:35And, you know, we're talking about a shoulder-filed missile, which has a range of about 13,000 feet.
03:43It's a short period of time that they would be able to use that.
03:46All countermeasures would have been applied anyway.
03:50The special agent in charge of the detail probably made the decision that's best for the president,
03:55which is the target, not the press corps, but the president to change planes.
03:59And that's what they did.
04:01It is worth noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Scott Besson, Treasury Secretary,
04:06they remained on what was thought to be the Air Force One there.
04:10But, Charles, by talking about how they're shifting the president to a new Air Force One plane,
04:15does this compromise future security missions, maybe giving our adversaries insight into how the Secret Service might work?
04:23Well, honestly, I wish we weren't talking about this at all.
04:26Yeah.
04:27That's a great point.
04:28But here we are.
04:30And again, none of this has really been validated other than the president saying that he appreciates
04:37and takes the advice of the Secret Service when it comes to his overall protection.
04:41And I think that's the right position to take.
04:45Look, it's a dynamic threat environment.
04:47The Secret Service doesn't just have to mitigate the risks of today.
04:51They also have to be able to foresee the threats of tomorrow.
04:56So the job's never been as important as it is today.
04:59And I think in this case, it's been demonstrated as such.
05:03Yeah, it's unfortunate.
05:04It's like when you reveal how you do a magic trick, it's no longer magic.
05:07And then, you know, you can't use it again.
05:09But Charles Moreno, Barry Donatio, thank you for your time.
