Donald Trump’s campaign has requested military aircraft for his protection in the closing weeks of the election race, marking an unusual demand for a candidate in the United States.
According to The Washington Post, Trump’s campaign team has also requested military vehicles from the Secret Service to transport the former president while he is on the ground.
The travel requests were part of several made by Trump’s staff to the Secret Service in recent weeks. In addition to military transport, they sought increased security measures for his homes and rallies, as well as the installation of ballistic glass in multiple battleground states for his protection.
There is no history of a presidential nominee receiving a military jet for travel. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris, his opponent, uses Air Force Two for her travels, a privilege afforded to her as vice president.
The requests come in the wake of multiple threats that Trump has faced in recent weeks. Throughout the campaign season, the former president has experienced two notable assassination attempts. The first occurred in Pennsylvania, where he was shot at during a rally, raising serious concerns about his safety. In a separate incident, a would-be assailant was discovered along a fence line near his golf course in Florida. These alarming events have heightened the urgency of his campaign’s requests for increased security measures, including military transport and protective vehicles.
According to The New York Times, which referenced emails and anonymous sources, the requests for military protection followed briefings received by Trump’s campaign advisers indicating that the government believes Iran is still actively plotting to kill him. The advisers have expressed growing concerns about the potential use of drones and missiles, as highlighted by the sources.
Trump’s campaign asserts that the threats are hindering its planning efforts. Despite this, the campaign announced that the former president intends to hold more rallies as Election Day approaches.
Last month, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated that Trump had been warned by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence about “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States.” Cheung added that intelligence officials have determined that these ongoing and coordinated threats have intensified in recent months.
Trump reiterated this claim on his Truth Social platform, asserting that “moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again.” Although there is no evidence linking Iran to the two recent assassination attempts against him, reports suggest that the FBI has not ruled out a potential connection. U.S. intelligence officials believe that Iran’s leaders might be seeking retribution for the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in 2020 during Trump’s administration. Nonetheless, officials maintain that Iran’s ability to execute strikes within the U.S. is considered limited.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Secret Service stated that Trump is already receiving “the highest levels of protection,” which includes temporary flight restrictions over his residence and during his travel.
