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Trump Left His Own Cabinet Officials as 'Bait' as He Hid in Catering Truck

A new report indicates Trump left his own Cabinet officials as 'bait' on AF1 as he hid with his most loyal aides in a catering truck during a potential threat to Air Force One.

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Sarah Jones
Aug 12, 2026
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Donald Trump has been accused of using White House press and staff as “bait” as he hid in catering truck during alleged Iran threat to Air Force One. And to make matters worse, the Washington Post reported Wednesday that “his most loyal and longest-serving aides but no Cabinet officials” joined him.

“Other passengers on the truck included Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff; Natalie Harp, the president’s executive assistant; and Walt Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations, according to a U.S. official familiar with the operation and corroborating material reviewed by The Washington Post. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media,” Dan Lamothe and Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

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Reportedly, Trump left Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials at the highest level of the government behind in the decoy plane.

“It remains unclear whether all the top administration officials involved were aware they were flying on a different plane than the president or whether they, like the reporters assigned to be in the pool covering him, were kept in the dark,” the Post reported.

Is it Presidential to Leave Others Behind as Bait?

After an outraged journalist confronted Trump Tuesday evening at Joint Base Andrews about leaving the press as a decoy on Air Force One during a potential security threat to the plane in Turkey while he hid in a catering truck, Trump said he faced a “greater risk” by traveling on the second plan while also claiming he did whatever Secret Service told him to do because he faces so many threats.

In other words, Trump played the hero even as it became clear that if the story was accurate, he fed the press and his own officials to the alleged threat while he and his most loyal aides hid out on a catering truck.

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