Secret Service, 1,000 hotel rooms and The Beast: How US presidential overseas travel is planned

It’s no surprise that President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE takes ample planning, but it's the lessons learnt from previous White House travels that make it all go off without a hitch.

The 26th President of the US, Theodore Roosevelt, was the first US president to travel outside the country during a four-day trip to Panama in 1906.

“Roosevelt also brought his wife Edith, setting a precedent for the US president to include the First Lady in such diplomatic travels,” said Timothy Kneeland, a professor of history, politics and law at Nazareth University in upstate New York. “They did not have Air Force One back then, but did have the USS Louisiana, a brand new battleship commissioned that year, along with two US naval cruisers, which were also new to the Navy.”

Prof Kneeland told The National that as the influence of the executive branch grew globally, planning for presidential travel evolved and became a lot pricier.

“For Trump to travel, it is much more extensive,” he explained. “It is suggested that his first trip overseas in 2017 included 1,000 people in his entourage, and the cost is always in the millions.

Air Force One alone is estimated to cost around $175,000 a flight hour, he added, but the US is not the only country involved to make sure the travel goes smoothly.

“Extensive planning and prep are under way in the country the President is visiting, with security details, embassy officials, and scores of representatives of the various agencies involved in the trip.”

Some US historians say that it was during Richard Nixon's presidency that the US became particularly proficient in overseas travel.

The White House Advance Office, created during the Nixon administration, continues to play a significant role in overseas US presidential travel, according to the Richard Nixon Foundation.

That office was “in charge of his large staff, and oversees and approves all aspects of advance, including airport arrivals and what the composition of the motorcades consist of.”

During his presidency, Mr Nixon’s advance team also created a 397-page manual giving guidance for future overseas trips.

“This manual, as old as it is, is still the manual that Presidents use today,” an article on the Nixon Foundation’s website read. “It has been refined as technology has advanced, of course, but it is still the prime example.”

Not everything falls under the jurisdiction of the various White House advance teams. There’s also a Military Office, according to the Nixon Foundation, which makes specific travel plans for Air Force One as well as the presidential limo, a 10-tonne vehicle nicknamed The Beast because of its imposing design.

The Cadillac almost always joins the US President and is transported by military aircraft, along with other vehicles needed on a trip.

There are also White House staffers in tow, making sure the White House’s political messages are co-ordinated throughout the trips.

“The Secret Service establishes the motorcade routes, vetoing those judged to be too vulnerable. Even a supply of the President’s blood is on hand, courtesy of the Medical Unit,” the Nixon Foundation’s article explained.

During a 2024 panel discussion organised by the White House Historical Association, Joseph Hagin, a former White House deputy chief of staff to presidents George W Bush and Donald Trump discussed the co-ordination needed to execute presidential travel.

“When we do a big overseas trip, there are about 25 government organisations who make that possible, along with thousands of people,” he said in an interview.

“It’s not unusual for a White House trip overseas, when going into a city, that you would take a thousand hotel rooms.”

Also taking part in that panel discussion was Capricia Marshall, who served as President Obama’s chief of protocol. She said the assistants of White House staff often play a role in assisting with the trip.

“In addition to the President and Executive Office staff, they will have secretaries, cabinet secretaries, and others important to mission who have their own staff and their own security, that’s another layer involved and then if you have the first lady, that’s another group and layer that joins in,” she said. She would often observe other country officials counting the cars the US brings over in the motorcade.

“They want to up it by one when they come visit the US,” she said, laughing.

According to Mr Hagin, The Beast has also been known to cause problems due to its sheer size and weight.

“During Bush’s last visit to the UK, Queen Elizabeth banned the beast from Windsor Castle because it was too heavy,” he said, adding that instead, the Queen drove President Bush around in a Range Rover.

If you observe closely during President Trump’s overseas travels, you might also notice a seemingly unassuming briefcase, known as the nuclear football.

It goes wherever the President goes, because inside are top-secret codes and plans enabling a president to green-light nuclear strikes from anywhere around the globe.

For all the pomp and pageantry associated with overseas White House travel, the nuclear football is a poignant reminder of serious duties that fall to the US President.

“It’s a high-wire act for sure,” said Mr Hagin, reflecting on the many presidential trips he was involved in, some that went better than others in terms of planning and the actual optics that resulted.

“A lot of these trips require a lot of compromise and a lot of good judgment, and if you make the wrong judgement you might have to answer to the president directly."

Cody Combs

Technology Policy Editor