Alex Isenstadt, a reporter for Politico, shared an exclusive piece with Axios on Sunday to promote his upcoming book, Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power. In his account, he revealed that the Trump campaign’s paranoia over Iran in 2024 became so intense that at one point, President Donald Trump even took a decoy flight out of fear of being targeted.
Isenstadt, who has worked for Politico, a publication that has recently faced criticism for its connections to government funding, noted that after the second assassination attempt against Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, concerns about a possible Iranian plot grew significantly.
It’s important to note that no proof has emerged connecting Iran to either of the assassination attempts on Trump.
The reporter from Politico mentioned that last year, “Law enforcement officials warned Trump … that Tehran had placed operatives in the U.S. with access to surface-to-air missiles.” However, Isenstadt did not specify the identities of these law enforcement officials or the exact nature of their claims. Despite this, he continued by explaining that “at one point soon after the” second assassination attempt in Florida, “Trump’s security detail was concerned enough about the Iran threat that it had Trump travel to an event on a decoy plan[e] owned by Steve Witkoff.”
Witkoff, a real estate billionaire and a close friend of Trump, also served as Trump’s envoy to the Middle East.
Isenstadt wrote that “Much of Trump’s staff traveled on Trump Force One that day,” which caused frustration among some aides who feared they could be “collateral damage” if the plane were attacked.
Following that, Susan Wiles, now serving as Trump’s chief of staff, traveled with him, while Chris LaCivita, his co-campaign chair alongside Wiles, remained on Trump Force One.
The decision to split the travel arrangements was kept from the staff, with most aides only realizing what was happening once the planes were airborne.
Isenstadt recalled that LaCivita told the group, “The boss ain’t riding with us today. We had to put him into another plane. This is nothing but a sort of test for how things may happen in the future.”
Aides who spoke to Isenstadt described the flight as a strange and unsettling experience, with many of them wondering if they were being used as decoys.
According to “campaign insiders,” as reported by Isenstadt, it appears that Trump may have been more concerned about the Iranian threat than he has publicly acknowledged.
{Matzav.com}