What did Donald Trump do today?

He got caught using reporters as human shields.

Last month, Trump suffered a minor embarrassment when he was forced to use the "old" Air Force One on a return trip from Turkey, as opposed to the jet he now usually uses. That jet, of course, was a gift from the government of Qatar, and has generally been understood as a bribe to Trump.

Initially, the explanation for his use of the original jet was that Trump wanted to give American troops stationed at a British airbase a chance to see the new jet. That didn't make much sense, and a more plausible explanation was soon reported out: that in spite of a billion dollars in taxpayer-funded upgrades to the "free" new jet, it still didn't have all the security measures necessary to transport Trump in safety that close to a war zone.

 

Now, reporting from the Washington Post today reveals that Trump wasn't on either jet. Instead, he flew in secret on a third jet, while reporters and other civilians flew on the jet Trump was supposed to be on, without knowing he wasn't on board. The reason for the lie-inside-a-lie is that American security officials had learned of a credible threat by Iran to try to bring down Air Force One and kill Trump.

In other words, Trump sent a jet full of reporters and other civilians into a danger he was unwilling to face himself. (Passengers on the decoy jet were not told about Trump's absence, or the threat that caused him to sneak away incognito.) 

Presidents have traveled in secret before, for security reasons. For example, President Biden traveled unannounced on a secured train when visiting Ukraine in 2023 to avoid presenting a target for Russian attack. When President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to US troops stationed in Iraq in 2003, he left his vacation ranch in secret so as to keep his departure out of public view, and his Air Force One flew without the usual transponder identification. 

But in all such cases, the ruse was revealed as soon as it had accomplished its purpose—and without putting other Americans in harm's way, knowingly or otherwise.

Trump, whose experience staying safe at the expense of others goes back to his days dodging the Vietnam draft, has not commented publicly. But a statement from the White House did not deny any of the reported facts. It said only that "we use every tool at our disposal to address" threats to Trump's life—including, apparently, having civilians unknowingly traveling in a jet that an enemy nation was hoping to target for destruction. 
 

Why does this matter?

• This is pure, shameful cowardice.