"Shocked" U.S. Press Corps Demands Safety Measures After Riding on "Decoy Plane"

The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) 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 the 12th (local time).

Jacqui Heinrich, WHCA president and 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 safety of reporters, but also about the role of the pool reporters who record the president's movements, as well as the accuracy and reliability 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 subsequent message to members, Heinrich stated that she had "a candid and productive meeting" with the White House, adding, "I strongly argued for the importance of independent press coverage of the president and maintaining an accurate historical record of the president's movements."

She also noted that she told the White House, "Undermining the credibility of pool reporting poses risks that extend far beyond individual incidents."

President Trump departed Turkey on July 8 after attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, boarding an older Air Force One before secretly getting off and using a catering truck to transfer to a smaller military aircraft.

Reporters accompanying President Trump and some administration officials at the time traveled on the Air Force One that acted as a "decoy," unaware of this fact.

They were instructed at the time to close their window shades, leaving them completely unaware that President Trump was switching planes.

It was initially known only that President Trump had traveled from Turkey to the United Kingdom on an older Air Force One to evade an Iranian assassination threat, before transferring to a newer Air Force One locally.

President Trump met with reporters the previous day and explained that the operation was carried out at the request of the U.S. Secret Service.

CNN reported that after the full story of the operation came to light over a month later through a Washington Post (WP) report on the 10th, reporters who were on the plane at the time were "shocked."

It also pointed out that due to the secret operation, the White House press corps' records of the president's movements at the time differed from reality.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.