In July, President Trump was quietly removed from Air Force One following a NATO summit in Turkey after intelligence indicated a credible Iranian threat against the aircraft. The presidential plane flew as a decoy while Trump departed separately, concealed in a catering container before boarding an unmarked government craft — a level of sustained secrecy that historians say has no clear precedent in modern American governance. The episode, confirmed by Trump weeks after the fact, has prompted reflection on the delicate balance between protecting a leader and preserving the democratic principle