▲ Air Force One waits on the runway at Ankara International Airport in Turkey before the departure of U.S. President Donald Trump after the NATO summit.
The White House Correspondents' Association has demanded safety measures from the White House after it was belatedly revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump secretly switched planes to evade an Iranian assassination threat without notifying the accompanying press corps, CNN reported on August 12 (local time).
Jackie Heinrich, president of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) and a Fox News anchor, met with President Trump's aides the previous day to convey the press corps' concerns regarding the operation.
The White House press corps raised concerns not only about the journalists' safety, but also regarding the role of the press pool in recording the president's movements, as well as the accuracy and credibility of pool reporting.
They requested, "Please work with us to establish response procedures in the event of unexpected security situations in the future."
In a message sent to members afterward, Heinrich stated that she had "an honest and productive meeting" with the White House, adding, "I strongly argued for the importance of independent press coverage of the president and maintaining accurate historical records of the president's movements."
She also mentioned telling the White House that "undermining the credibility of pool reporting poses risks that extend far beyond individual incidents."
President Trump boarded an older model of Air Force One upon leaving Turkey after attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on July 8, but then secretly disembarked and used a catering truck to transfer to a smaller military aircraft.
The journalists and some administration officials accompanying President Trump at the time traveled on the Air Force One that served as a "decoy," completely unaware of the switch.
At the time, they were instructed to pull down their window shades, keeping them entirely in the dark about President Trump changing planes.
Initially, it was only known that President Trump had flown out of Turkey on the older Air Force One to avoid an Iranian assassination threat, traveled to the United Kingdom, and then switched to a newer Air Force One locally.
President Trump explained to reporters the previous day that the operation was carried out at the request of the U.S. Secret Service.
CNN reported that journalists who were on board the flight were "shocked" when the full details of the operation came to light over a month later through a report by The Washington Post (WP) on August 10.
It also pointed out that due to the covert operation, the White House press corps' records of the president's movements at the time differed from reality.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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