In the wake of reports that United States President Donald J. Trump secretly changed planes when departing from a security conference in Turkey due to an assassination threat, media outlets sought commentary from security experts.
DSS Vice President-Intelligence, Risk Advisory, and Strategic Initiatives (IRASI) Greg Sanfilippo appeared on Gordon Deal’s national radio show and Speak for America with Bill Spadea on OnNJ to discuss the incident.
In July, while leaving a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Turkey, the U.S. President opted not to fly on Air Force One, the chief executive’s usual travel plane, and instead flew back to Washington, D.C., on a military jet. The sudden change in planes, which was concealed until after the president was back in the U.S., came after intelligence surfaced indicating a potential assassination attempt by Iranian agents directed at Air Force One.
While the president took a military jet home, senior administration officials and members of the press corps flew back to Washington on board Air Force One.
Speaking with Bill Spadea on OnNJ. Greg noted that other presidents had covertly switched planes when intelligence indicated a threat to Air Force One, including President Bill Clinton, who secretly flew on a different plane leaving Pakistan in 2006. Still, he called the recent revelations “extraordinary,” adding that “usually this doesn’t come out. It’s done behind the scenes when there is a credible threat.”
“These plans are rehearsed and developed a long time before the event,” Greg continued. “It’s a critical time because now you are moving a president with a smaller package (the military jet vs. Air Force One) and you want the Iranians to think he was on Air Force One.”
According to Greg, such deceptions are common practice when protecting national leaders.
“Most times, it is just changing up the schedule, arriving early, showing up late. The audience may think the VIP just showed up late. Still, in fact, it is all part of the protection plan,” he explained, noting that the current international environment is marked by higher tensions resulting from Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine and the United States’ continuing hostilities with Iran in the Persian Gulf.
Speaking on This Morning with Gordon Deal, Greg noted that the risks to U.S. leaders, including the president, are heightened when they travel overseas.
Greg said the Secret Service plans international trips well in advance to anticipate threats and devise countermeasures to protect the president. “That he changed planes doesn’t mean that there was an immediate threat,” Greg said, “it just means that moving him to a different plane creates a better security posture for the president.”
He told Gordon Deal that it was “highly problematic” for the Secret Service that the story leaked to the press since it means the specific maneuver cannot be used again. “The fewer the number of people who know, the more effective the ruse is,” Greg noted.
Greg has decades of experience in intelligence gathering and analysis. He retired from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) as a Sergeant and former supervisor with the public-private intelligence-sharing initiative NYPD Shield. He is also a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve. Local and national media organizations routinely seek his deep expertise in intelligence gathering and security planning for analysis of news events.
DSS is proud that our team includes so many security and intelligence experts. Their collective experience and expertise strengthen the world-class service we provide to our clients.
