This archive report was first published on 1 December 2019.
On a Thanksgiving trip to Afghanistan, President Trump's White House took extreme precautions to keep his destination under wraps. Thirteen reporters and photographers were driven to Joint Base Andrews near Washington, where their cellphones and other devices were confiscated by Secret Service agents.
Even the President surrendered his phone, and the White House posted from his Twitter account while he was in the air to avoid arousing suspicions about his activities. The unusual measures were taken to maintain an embargo on the President's itinerary, which was lifted only after he had been in Afghanistan for nearly three hours.
According to White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, maintaining the embargo was vital for security reasons. In a statement, she said, 'For this very unique trip, it was very important to me that the traveling pool had every opportunity to break the news.'
Mr. Trump's trip to Afghanistan was a departure from his previous visit to Iraq, where he had expressed concerns for the institution of the presidency and the safety of his wife, Melania Trump. This time, the First Lady stayed home, and Mr. Trump boasted of American military successes and suggested that the Taliban was eager to make a peace deal.
On his return, Mr. Trump recalled the secrecy surrounding his trip, saying, 'If you would have seen what we had to go through, with the darkened plane with all windows closed, with no lights on whatsoever, pitch black.'
