F-16 fighter jets had to be scrambled to President Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, to escort civilian aircraft out of the venue’s airspace while the commander-in-chief was on site.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement its F-16s had successfully led two of the craft away after they were found to have breached temporary flight restrictions imposed on the area Sunday.
A local resident of Jefferson Township captured the escorting mission on camera in dramatic footage posted to social media.
A third craft also triggered an alert but “reestablished communications and became compliant before NORAD intervention was required,” the command explained.
The disruption delayed Trump’s return journey to Washington, D.C., on Sunday evening by around 13 minutes, according to Fox News, which reported that emergency SUVs, law enforcement officers and Secret Service agents were seen moving into position near the runway at Morristown Municipal Airport before takeoff.
open image in galleryIt is not yet known why the violations occurred but the 1st AF/America’s AOC responded by X by using the episode to remind pilots: “Check NOTAMs before EVERY flight!”
The Independent has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment.
Trump had arrived at the club Friday to spend the weekend, a trip coinciding with its staging of the four-day LIV Golf New York tournament.
Security remains tight around the president and Sunday’s incidents follow investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office announcing last week they had arrested a man for taking photos and videos at Trump’s Rancho Palos Verdes golf club in California just days before his arrival.
The authorities said Jeanine John Taele, 38, had been seen watching federal agents plan their security arrangements at the course on Friday July 31 and had returned Sunday August 2, prompting his arrest.
open image in galleryDeputies later found hollow-point ammunition in his pocket and a loaded firearm inside his vehicle plus additional weapons, body armor, high-capacity magazines and multiple notebooks at his home, the latter containing what detectives described as “concerning statements.”
Plotters previously targeted Trump’s UFC event on the South Lawn of the White House in June and a would-be gunman attempted to rush the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in April.
Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old computer engineer also from California, was arrested and charged with attempting to assassinate the president at the black tie press event, as well as with two weapons offences.
Iran has meanwhile threatened to assassinate Trump in response to the Operation Epic Fury airstrikes he launched in late February this year.
All of which follows two high-profile attempts on his life during the 2024 presidential campaign: sniper Thomas Matthew Crooks fired on Trump at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July of that year, clipping his right ear before being killed by the candidate’s security detail.
open image in galleryThe following September, another aspiring shooter, Ryan Routh, fled the president’s golf course in Florida after being spotted by agents while lurking in the bushes attempting to get a clear shot at Trump. He was later apprehended, charged and jailed for life.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran recently revealed that the current threat level his agency faces is “off the charts,” blaming a political climate more volatile than anything he said he has seen over his 24-year career.
A fellow agent added that there have already been around 10,000 threats made against government officials and Supreme Court justices so far in 2026, a 40 percent increase on the same period in 2025.
“Being president is a very dangerous profession,” Trump told Fox & Friends last month on the two-year anniversary of the Butler shooting. “It’s 5.2 percent of the presidents, basically, are killed, 8.5 percent are shot at or shot.”