An American President secretly abandoning Air Force One in a catering truck sounds like political theatre. In reality, it reveals something more serious about the nature of presidential power in wartime: the extraordinary lengths to which a state will go when it believes its leader may be a target.

President Donald Trump has now confirmed that he was moved to another aircraft after the NATO summit in Ankara because the Secret Service and military told him to do so. He said he simply followed their instructions and suggested that the aircraft he actually boarded may have been at greater risk because an attacker would be more likely to target the plane believed to be carrying him. That last point matters. It is tempting to see the people who remained aboard the apparent Air Force One ~ including journalists and White House personnel ~ as having been unknowingly placed in harm’s way while the president escaped. But the available evidence does not necessarily establish that.

The 747 continued to operate as the apparent presidential aircraft. Its passengers were told to keep the window shades closed, helping preserve the........

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