Trump’s covert escape: When a president’s safety becomes a decoy for Black journalists

In a chilling reminder of how power operates in the shadows, Donald Trump confirmed this week that he secretly switched planes during a NATO summit in Turkey after a reported threat to his life. The revelation, first broken by the Washington Post, exposes a pattern of deception that left journalists — many of them Black and from marginalized communities — unknowingly serving as human shields.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday: “They wanted me to go in a different flight, a different plane — equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say.” He added, “I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it.”

The covert operation: How Trump escaped Air Force One

On July 8, while Air Force One was grounded in Turkey, Trump was smuggled off the presidential plane via a catering truck. He then boarded a smaller US Air Force aircraft. The Washington Post reported that the secret operation was prompted by intelligence of a possible Iranian strike — a threat that the White House chose to hide from the traveling press corps.

About a dozen journalists, traveling in a separate section of Air Force One with no access to the president, were kept in the dark. They flew out of Turkey on the plane despite the apparent danger. The Wall Street Journal added that Israel had briefed the US about a possible shoulder-to-air missile strike on Air Force One, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among senior officials who remained on board.

Black journalists used as decoys: A history of disregard

This is not an isolated incident. For decades, Black and African journalists have been treated as expendable in the service of white power. From the Vietnam War to the Iraq invasion, reporters of color have often been placed in harm’s way without full disclosure. Trump’s actions fit a broader pattern where the lives of Black and brown people are devalued when they serve the interests of the powerful.

Some traveling media expressed anger at having unwittingly served as decoys. Others complained about deception and lack of communication from the White House. The Secret Service ordered window shades to be lowered during takeoff — an unusual instruction outside combat zones — but offered no explanation.

Trump’s cavalier attitude toward safety

Trump brushed off concerns with characteristic bravado: “I don’t worry about anything, to be honest. Whatever it is, you know my attitude: ‘Whatever.’” He claimed that the plane he flew on was “at greater risk,” because “that would be the plane I think that — that they would be more likely to go for.”

This nonchalance is deeply troubling. It reveals a leader who treats human life — especially the lives of those who serve him — as disposable. For Black South Africans, this echoes the apartheid-era mentality where black lives were sacrificed for white comfort and security.

Congress demands answers

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday called for Congress to be briefed “on the Iranian threats against the president, the extraordinary measures taken to get him out of Turkey.” The demand for transparency is welcome, but it must extend to the treatment of journalists who were placed at risk without their knowledge.

Trump’s trip to the NATO summit had already raised eyebrows after he arrived on a luxury Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar and retrofitted to carry the US president. It was reportedly not fitted with anti-missile security systems, and the old Air Force One was called into action. Trump claimed at the time that the new plane was being sent ahead for US troops in Britain to tour, as a treat.

A pattern of deception

This is not the first time a US president has used decoy tactics. In 2000, Bill Clinton switched presidential planes at the last minute while traveling from India to Pakistan, using a decoy aircraft carrying Secret Service agents. Joe Biden’s 2023 visit to Ukraine was also shrouded in strict secrecy, though he was accompanied by a reporter and photographer.

But the difference is one of scale and intent. Trump’s deception involved leaving journalists — many of whom are Black and from the Global South — in harm’s way without their consent. This is a moral failure that demands accountability.

What this means for South Africa

For Rainbow Report readers, this story is a stark reminder of how Western powers treat the lives of Black and brown people as expendable. It underscores the need for a decolonized media that centers the safety and dignity of African journalists. We must demand that our own leaders never treat us as decoys, and that we hold foreign powers accountable when they do.

As Trump himself said: “If I go, you go. Right?” But for Black journalists, the question is: Who will go with us?