Iran’s threat to assassinate President Donald Trump during the 2024 campaign led his team to take extreme precautions, which included riding on a decoy plane to throw off would-be pursuers.
After law enforcement told Trump that Iran had snuck operatives into the country who had access to surface-to-air missiles, the president’s team worried that his easily recognizable private jet, “Trump Force One,” might make him an easy target during takeoff or landing. Concerns only grew after a failed attempt on Trump’s life at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sept. 15.
Soon thereafter, Trump’s security detail had the candidate travel to an event on a decoy plane owned by friend and real estate executive Steve Witkoff.
Revelations about Trump’s response to security threats during the campaign come from an upcoming book by Axios Reporter Alex Isenstadt, who revealed details in a post on the outlet’s website.
Co-Campaign Manager Susie Wiles joined the president on Witkoff’s plane, but the rest of the staff, including Co-Campaign Manager Chris LaCivita, traveled in Trump Force One.
“The boss ain’t riding with us today,” LaCivita told the group. “We had to put him into another plane. This is nothing but a sort of test for how things may happen in the future.”
This upset some aides who worried they could be “collateral damage” if the jet were targeted.
The Secret Service also arranged for a decoy motorcade the same day, with Trump in one and staffers in another.
