Washington, August 12, 2026 (Yes Punjab News) A veteran White House reporter has revealed that the Clinton administration briefed journalists in advance about the use of a decoy aircraft during then-President Bill Clinton’s high-risk visit to Pakistan in 2000, breaking her 26-year silence over the security operation.
Susan Page, who was president of the White House Correspondents’ Association at the time, said White House officials summoned her for an off-the-record briefing before Clinton travelled from India to Pakistan, according to The Washington Post.
“They told me about the extraordinary security procedures being taken because of the dangers in flying there, including use of the decoy plane,” Page said. She added that the security threat affected both Clinton and journalists covering the trip.
Page, now USA Today’s Washington bureau chief, said she decided to disclose the episode after more than a quarter-century had passed and because the deception became apparent when Clinton arrived in Islamabad.
“I haven’t spoken about this episode before, because of the off-the-record ground rules of the discussion,” Page said. “But since more than a quarter-century has passed — and since the ruse became evident as soon as President Clinton disembarked in Pakistan — I think it’s OK for me to relay it now.”
In March 2000, an aircraft bearing Air Force One markings landed in Islamabad in front of television cameras. A Secret Service agent resembling Clinton emerged from the aircraft before an unmarked plane arrived and the President himself disembarked from it.
Page’s disclosure follows a Washington Post report that President Donald Trump secretly changed aircraft while departing Turkey last month amid what US officials described as a credible Iranian threat.
According to the report, Trump was moved in an airport catering truck to an unmarked Air Force C-32A, while the presidential aircraft carrying journalists and staff acted as a decoy. The White House had publicly indicated that Trump departed Turkey aboard the former Air Force One.
The Post reported that journalists on the decoy aircraft had been instructed to keep their window shades closed and were not informed about the aircraft switch or the extent of the threat.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the security measures without directly addressing the reported deception.
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who seek his demise, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Cheung said.
Trump later told reporters that he faced an ongoing threat from Iran and warned journalists about the risks involved in presidential travel.
The White House press pool is a rotating group of journalists who travel with and report on the President on behalf of the broader news media, providing independent coverage when access is restricted.
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