16 Things That Happen When The President Travels Abroad

It can cost between $42-100-million for the president of the United States to travel overseas. Where does that cost come from? Starting off, there are the advanced teams who meet with local agencies to arrange the logistics of the trip and sweep the rooms in which the president will be staying. Then, there’s the transportation of the president’s limousine, as well as a fleet of around 40 more cars,  and his 900-strong support staff of agents, advisers, doctors, and chefs. That’s not even counting the bomb-sniffing dogs that case out the various routes the president will travel. Trauma hospitals are on standby at the locations he visits and individuals who could pose a threat to the president are watched. It’s an intricate, well-oiled operation and you wouldn’t believe just how little freedom the leader of the free world actually has when he’s abroad. 

1. Before the president arrives in a particular city, the secret service will contact anyone in the area who has threatened him in the past and has the capacity to carry out those threats. Those people are warned that they will be monitored closely during the president’s visit. 

2. Before the president gets off the plane, bomb-sniffing dogs are taken along the route his car will travel. Any parked cars will be cleared from the streets close to the president’s hotel. 

3. Every time the president exits his car, a canopy will be set up to protect his entry into the building. Agents want to ensure he is never exposed. 

4. Whenever the president travels he is never more than 20 minutes away from a trauma hospital. An agent is stationed at each trauma hospital along the route, ready to coordinate with doctors in the event of a medical emergency.

You’ll never believe how many cars travel with the president.