By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
This morning my husband told me a story that made me want to cheer — not so much because of political reasons, but because of the sheer brilliance and simplicity of a plan that saved the life of the President of the United States once again.
I am going to digress a bit and talk about assassinations and assassination attempts from the standpoint of being 72 years old. I had just turned 10 when JFK was killed. My parents were Republican and had voted for Nixon, and it was just understood back in 1963 that you supported the office based on principle, even if the person for whom you voted was not elected. I will never forget the sadness I felt that night President Kennedy was killed in Dallas, and in the days to follow. I even felt sad when Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald, even though Oswald was not exactly a good guy. It felt like the world was falling apart. And, over 60 years later, I celebrate the fact that one more threat against a leader has been foiled.
Five years after JFK was killed, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Again, what happened shook me as well as our whole country, at least if you are a normal human. I know that there were people who were glad they had been killed, but murder for political reasons wounds everyone and weakens a nation.
In 1975, President Gerald Ford endured two assassination attempts in 17 days, and President Ronald Reagan was wounded in an attempt in 1981.
And then there is President Donald Jay Trump, who has the unenvied record of assassination attempts, the one in Butler, PA, coming within millimeters of causing his death. There have been several attempts since, some of which the public has been made aware, and I am sure several about which we will never know.
That’s why I was surprised that the latest threat on President Trump’s life at the behest of the nation of Iran was made public; not so much the threat, but the strategic avoidance of Iran making good on that threat. I doubt this strategy can be used again, but I am sure glad it worked.
So, here’s the cool literal head fake that was pulled off. President Trump was in Turkey, and news of a new threat was credible enough to cause a perfect pièce de diversion. The President got on the real Air Force One per usual, up front behind the cockpit, and waved to the people. The rest of the press crew and staff got into the rear entrance, having no idea that their boss was actually exiting the plane while they were entering it. He then went out the side that is where food and supplies are loaded onto the plane, and got carried in the food container to another smaller plane parked across the airport. No one knew, which guaranteed the element of surprise, and Air Force One took off, followed by the other plane. They landed in the UK, and the president got back onto Air Force One, flew the rest of the way home, landed, waved to the people, came down the stairs, and was then taken to the White House.
He lived to fight another day, and no one was the wiser. I don’t know who came up with this plan, but it was perfect. And I am glad that all of us have been spared that horrible feeling I remember 60 plus years ago when an assassination attempt was successful. To all who devised this plan, well done. To all who executed it, including POTUS, well done. We love it when a plan comes together.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
