For decades, Donald Trump cultivated a public image based on strength and dominance. He was a brash New York real estate mogul; a reality TV star who deployed his signature phrase: “You’re fired!” to eliminate contestants from The Apprentice; and eventually US president and undisputed leader of the Republican party.

In recent months, Trump has taken his boastfulness to an extreme, reportedly telling confidants that he’s “the most powerful person to ever live” and comparing himself with some of history’s most feared leaders, including Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and Mao.

But recent revelations have threatened to shatter Trump’s image as a strongman: the US president departed on a secret military flight out of Turkey after attending a Nato summit, while the White House told the public he was flying aboard Air Force One. The operation involved an elaborate ruse in which Trump boarded his jumbo jet in view of TV cameras, and then was hustled out by the Secret Service through an airport catering truck. Trump was taken to an alternate military aircraft, which flew him to Britain – all unbeknownst to journalists and several White House staff members who stayed on Air Force One and thought they were on the same plane as the president.

The embarrassing necessity was a result of Trump’s unnecessary war against Iran. US officials used such levels of subterfuge because they were worried about an Iranian assassination attempt against Trump, according to reports in the Washington Post and New York Times. On 11 August, Trump confirmed that he had secretly switched planes in Turkey, and attributed the decision to his protective detail and military advisers. “I go by Secret Service and the military,” Trump told reporters who asked why US officials had used such an intricate ploy and kept the public in the dark about it until the story was leaked. “They........

© The Guardian