Archive · 12 Aug 2026
Veteran reporter breaks silence on Clinton's 2000 Pakistan decoy plane
Many years ago, the President of the United States, a very important leader named Bill Clinton, wanted to visit a country called Pakistan.
Traveling there was dangerous, so the people in charge planned a clever trick to keep him safe.
They sent a special airplane that looked exactly like the president's airplane.
When it landed, a man who looked a little bit like the president got off first, and everyone watching thought it was really him.
But the real president was on a different, secret airplane that landed a little later.
A news reporter named Susan Page knew about this trick back then, but she promised not to tell anyone.
Many years later, she finally told the story because so much time had passed.
Around the same time, newspapers reported that another president, Donald Trump, used a similar secret trick when he traveled out of Turkey because of a serious danger.
The people in charge of keeping presidents safe said they sometimes keep secrets to protect the president from people who want to hurt him.
Susan Page broke a 26-year silence, revealing the Clinton administration used a decoy aircraft during President Bill Clinton's high-risk 2000 visit to Pakistan.
In March 2000, an aircraft bearing Air Force One markings landed in Islamabad and a Secret Service agent resembling Clinton emerged before the president arrived on an unmarked plane.
Page's disclosure followed a Washington Post report that President Donald Trump secretly changed aircraft while leaving Turkey because of a credible Iranian threat.
According to the Post, Trump was moved via an airport catering truck to an unmarked Air Force C-32A while the presidential aircraft carrying journalists and staff served as a decoy.
White House communications director Steven Cheung defended the security measures, saying many enemies of America seek the president's demise and the administration uses every tool to address those threats.
- Who
- Susan Page, then president of the White House Correspondents' Association and now USA Today's Washington bureau chief, briefed off-the-record about the decoy plan; President Bill Clinton, who made the 2000 trip; and President Donald Trump, whose secret aircraft change prompted the disclosure.
- What
- The Clinton administration used a decoy aircraft during the president's high-risk 2000 visit to Pakistan, a fact Page revealed after 26 years, following a Washington Post report that Trump secretly changed aircraft while leaving Turkey over an Iranian threat.
- When
- March 2000 for the Clinton trip; Page broke her silence 26 years later, after the Post reported on Trump's secret aircraft change during his departure from Turkey last month.
- Where
- Islamabad, Pakistan, where the decoy aircraft landed; Clinton flew from India to Pakistan; the Trump operation occurred as he left Turkey.
- Why
- Page said more than a quarter-century had passed and the ruse became evident as soon as Clinton disembarked in Islamabad, and she relayed it after the Post's report on Trump's similar security operation.
Press Transparency
Security Secrecy
Informing the press about presidential aircraft changes
Press Transparency
The White House press pool exists to provide an independent record of presidential movements; the Clinton administration briefed journalists about the 2000 decoy operation, whereas the Trump operation was conducted without telling journalists about the aircraft change or the extent of the threat.
Security Secrecy
Security procedures must be kept secret to protect the president; as Steven Cheung said, there are many enemies of America who seek the president's demise, and the administration uses every tool at its disposal to address those threats.
Revealing past decoy operations
Press Transparency
Susan Page says it is acceptable to disclose the Clinton-era ruse now that more than 25 years have passed and the deception became evident when Clinton disembarked in Islamabad.
Security Secrecy
Off-the-record ground rules of the original briefing should be honored; Page herself kept quiet for 26 years because of those rules, and the White House has not publicly confirmed the reported Trump deception.
- Reporter
- Susan Page, USA Today Washington bureau chief
- Event
- Clinton administration's use of a decoy aircraft for the 2000 Pakistan visit
- Date
- March 2000
- Location
- Islamabad, Pakistan
- Decoy tactic
- Aircraft bearing Air Force One markings landed; a Secret Service agent resembling Clinton emerged first
- Related incident
- Trump secretly changed aircraft leaving Turkey over a credible Iranian threat
- Aircraft used by Trump
- Unmarked Air Force C-32A
- White House response
- Steven Cheung said the administration uses every tool to address threats against the president
