{"id":160765,"date":"2026-08-17T14:25:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T22:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/17\/the-catering-caper-a-loaf-on-the-move\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T14:25:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T22:25:57","slug":"the-catering-caper-a-loaf-on-the-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/17\/the-catering-caper-a-loaf-on-the-move\/","title":{"rendered":"The Catering Caper: A Loaf On The Move"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

President Donald Trump left the NATO summit last month in an unusual way:\u00a0He did not board the new Qatari Air Force One, instead publicly boarded an old version of Air Force One, and then snuck off that plane on a catering delivery truck to actually fly out on yet a third plane.<\/p>\n

Others have questioned whether it was proper to leave White House reporters, some staff, and a cabinet secretary or two on board the new Air Force One as bait to entice a feared Iranian missile.\u00a0Perhaps it was; perhaps it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0I\u2019d like to season the catering caper with a different flavor.<\/p>\n

Security concerns have occasionally prompted presidents to conceal their travel plans.\u00a0President Bill Clinton flew secretly from India to Pakistan in 2000 to attend a meeting to calm regional tensions in Kashmir.\u00a0President George W. Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving trip to surprise the troops in Baghdad in 2003.\u00a0President Barack Obama made a nighttime flight to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan in 2010.\u00a0Concealed trips are sometimes necessary.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the rub:\u00a0After the covert trips in 2000, 2003, and 2010, all of the presidential administrations acknowledged the furtive trips as soon as the president had landed or was out of the danger zone \u2014 typically within 12 to 24 hours after the trip.\u00a0(Here are links establishing that for\u00a0Clinton<\/a>,\u00a0Bush<\/a>, and\u00a0Obama<\/a>, respectively.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That policy makes sense:\u00a0Once the president is out of harm\u2019s way, the government should honestly discuss the deception that had taken place.\u00a0There\u2019s no legitimate reason to mislead the public unnecessarily.<\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Immediately after Trump\u2019s trip, reporters asked Trump about the security concern that had prompted him to switch to the old Air Force One before the flight.\u00a0Trump implied that he and the press were all at risk together:\u00a0\u201cIf I go, you go.\u00a0Right?<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n

What a huge psychological tell.<\/p>\n

Trump was ashamed of his cowardice.\u00a0He had just secretly flown on a different plane from the press corps, so an Iranian missile could have made the press corps \u201cgo,\u201d but Trump would have stayed.\u00a0Trump could have avoided speaking to this issue by saying only that security threats required changing planes.\u00a0But Trump did not.\u00a0He instead felt compelled to intentionally deceive the press, implying that he\u2019d been on the same flight, and at the same risk, as the press pool.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a guilty conscience for you, huh?<\/p>\n

It gets worse.<\/p>\n

The New York Times<\/em>\u00a0investigated the change of planes and published details of certain missing defensive measures on the Qatari Air Force One.\u00a0If the truth had been known, those details were irrelevant:\u00a0Trump didn\u2019t fly on the ill-equipped Qatari Air Force One, but he also didn\u2019t fly on the well-equipped old Air Force One.\u00a0Differences between those two planes were irrelevant.<\/p>\n

If reporters snooped around into the differences between the two planes, however, reporters might have stumbled onto the truth:\u00a0Trump hadn\u2019t flown on either plane.\u00a0Trump didn\u2019t want the press to learn that truth, because the truth revealed Trump\u2019s cowardice, and Trump instead wanted to project the bravery that\u2019s so central to his image of himself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump thus had the Department of Justice issue multiple\u00a0grand jury subpoenas<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0journalists who had reported on the planes and moved to compel disclosure of their confidential sources. Trump didn\u2019t want reporters snooping around into a story that, if investigated further, might reflect poorly on him, so he had the government try to intimidate the journalists.\u00a0(The Justice Department later withdrew the subpoenas.)<\/p>\n

Perhaps we should worry about the use of reporters and others as bait for an Iranian missile.<\/p>\n

But whether or not that\u2019s proper, unlike previous administrations, Trump chose first to imply that the covert flight hadn\u2019t occurred at all \u2014 \u201cIf I go, you go.\u201d\u00a0His administration then chose not to reveal the truth about his covert flight immediately, as other administrations had, but instead to conceal that flight.\u00a0The administration tried to coerce reporters who were investigating the story.\u00a0Indeed, the Trump administration seemingly would have been glad to conceal this story forever.\u00a0The truth might never have come out if the press had not independently unearthed it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just Private Bone Spurs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Private Bone Spurs with a guilty conscience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>inhouse@abovethelaw.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post The Catering Caper: A Loaf On The Move<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

President Donald Trump left the NATO summit last month in an unusual way:\u00a0He did not board the new Qatari Air Force One, instead publicly boarded an old version of Air Force One, and then snuck off that plane on a catering delivery truck to actually fly out on yet a third plane.<\/p>\n

Others have questioned whether it was proper to leave White House reporters, some staff, and a cabinet secretary or two on board the new Air Force One as bait to entice a feared Iranian missile.\u00a0Perhaps it was; perhaps it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0I\u2019d like to season the catering caper with a different flavor.<\/p>\n

Security concerns have occasionally prompted presidents to conceal their travel plans.\u00a0President Bill Clinton flew secretly from India to Pakistan in 2000 to attend a meeting to calm regional tensions in Kashmir.\u00a0President George W. Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving trip to surprise the troops in Baghdad in 2003.\u00a0President Barack Obama made a nighttime flight to Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan in 2010.\u00a0Concealed trips are sometimes necessary.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the rub:\u00a0After the covert trips in 2000, 2003, and 2010, all of the presidential administrations acknowledged the furtive trips as soon as the president had landed or was out of the danger zone \u2014 typically within 12 to 24 hours after the trip.\u00a0(Here are links establishing that for\u00a0Clinton<\/a>,\u00a0Bush<\/a>, and\u00a0Obama<\/a>, respectively.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

That policy makes sense:\u00a0Once the president is out of harm\u2019s way, the government should honestly discuss the deception that had taken place.\u00a0There\u2019s no legitimate reason to mislead the public unnecessarily.<\/p>\n

Unless you\u2019re Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Immediately after Trump\u2019s trip, reporters asked Trump about the security concern that had prompted him to switch to the old Air Force One before the flight.\u00a0Trump implied that he and the press were all at risk together:\u00a0\u201cIf I go, you go.\u00a0Right?<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n

What a huge psychological tell.<\/p>\n

Trump was ashamed of his cowardice.\u00a0He had just secretly flown on a different plane from the press corps, so an Iranian missile could have made the press corps \u201cgo,\u201d but Trump would have stayed.\u00a0Trump could have avoided speaking to this issue by saying only that security threats required changing planes.\u00a0But Trump did not.\u00a0He instead felt compelled to intentionally deceive the press, implying that he\u2019d been on the same flight, and at the same risk, as the press pool.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a guilty conscience for you, huh?<\/p>\n

It gets worse.<\/p>\n

The New York Times<\/em>\u00a0investigated the change of planes and published details of certain missing defensive measures on the Qatari Air Force One.\u00a0If the truth had been known, those details were irrelevant:\u00a0Trump didn\u2019t fly on the ill-equipped Qatari Air Force One, but he also didn\u2019t fly on the well-equipped old Air Force One.\u00a0Differences between those two planes were irrelevant.<\/p>\n

If reporters snooped around into the differences between the two planes, however, reporters might have stumbled onto the truth:\u00a0Trump hadn\u2019t flown on either plane.\u00a0Trump didn\u2019t want the press to learn that truth, because the truth revealed Trump\u2019s cowardice, and Trump instead wanted to project the bravery that\u2019s so central to his image of himself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump thus had the Department of Justice issue multiple\u00a0grand jury subpoenas<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0journalists who had reported on the planes and moved to compel disclosure of their confidential sources. Trump didn\u2019t want reporters snooping around into a story that, if investigated further, might reflect poorly on him, so he had the government try to intimidate the journalists.\u00a0(The Justice Department later withdrew the subpoenas.)<\/p>\n

Perhaps we should worry about the use of reporters and others as bait for an Iranian missile.<\/p>\n

But whether or not that\u2019s proper, unlike previous administrations, Trump chose first to imply that the covert flight hadn\u2019t occurred at all \u2014 \u201cIf I go, you go.\u201d\u00a0His administration then chose not to reveal the truth about his covert flight immediately, as other administrations had, but instead to conceal that flight.\u00a0The administration tried to coerce reporters who were investigating the story.\u00a0Indeed, the Trump administration seemingly would have been glad to conceal this story forever.\u00a0The truth might never have come out if the press had not independently unearthed it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just Private Bone Spurs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Private Bone Spurs with a guilty conscience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Mark\u00a0Herrmann\u00a0spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and later oversaw litigation, compliance and employment matters at a large international company. He is the author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Curmudgeon\u2019s Guide to Practicing Law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(affiliate links). You can reach him by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by Win McNamee\/Getty Images) President Donald Trump left the NATO summit last month in an unusual way:\u00a0He did not board the new Qatari Air Force One, instead publicly boarded an old version of Air Force One, and then snuck off that plane on a catering delivery truck to actually fly out on yet a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":160766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/donald-trump-GettyImages-1152627372-9kNm7q.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}