In July, U.S. intelligence had credible information of a threat against President Donald Trump’s life as he was preparing to depart the NATO meeting in Turkey. He boarded a secret military jet — reportedly by entering through a catering truck — and left safely. The operation worked. The president is alive.
But now the media is furious they weren’t informed in advance. Not even kidding. They are legit big mad.
Let’s sit with that for a moment. The press corps is upset that the Secret Service didn’t brief them on the classified security protocols for a classified operation designed to prevent the assassination of the President of the United States. They are outraged that they were not told exactly where the president would be and exactly what vehicle he would use to escape an Iranian kill team.
The Washington Post’s contribution to this coverage was to point out that Bill Clinton did something similar during a 1999 Pakistan trip — but crucially, a White House press official briefed the White House Correspondents’ Association president off the record so that at least one journalist knew the president wouldn’t be on Air Force One. But that was a different time. Back then, a couple of journalists, at least, could be trusted with such information. And after all, Clinton is a Democrat, like most of them.
The media presents this as an example Trump should have followed. What it actually is: proof of exactly why he didn’t. One journalist knowing is one journalist who could leak it thanks to their Trump Derangement Syndrome. One leak in that environment is one dead president. The Clinton comparison doesn’t help the media’s argument. It confirms Trump’s judgment.
This is the same press corps that ran classified munitions data last week in a CBS News report — information the Trump administration called treasonous and said the leakers were being hunted. This is the same media ecosystem that ran the five-reporter MSNBC story alleging Kash Patel was about to be fired, built entirely on anonymous sources, that turned out to be false. This is the press corps that published advance details about a planned Marine Corps helicopter flight in a story about JD Vance’s security detail, details that caused the flight to be canceled.
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And the question these people are asking is: why didn’t Trump tell us where he was going?
Scott Jennings answered it with a precision that should be mandatory viewing: because telling the press would have meant telling everyone who monitors the press. In an environment where Iranian operatives are actively planning assassination attempts against the president, “let’s brief the journalists” is not a security protocol. It is a liability.
Trump attended the NATO meeting despite the threat. He showed up. He did the work. He got out safely. The people who were supposed to keep that information secure kept it secure.
The catering truck worked. The president came home. The media is writing outrage pieces about not being invited along.
As RedState’s Matt Vespa put it: “We weren’t told” should be met with a shoulder shrug. The safety and security of the President of the United States is far more important than the comfort of the press corps. Full stop.
