. @brhodes said there is "always" a backup plan for Potus bad weather travel. I just spoke with someone familiar with GWBush's travel. He agreed with Ben. Quick thread to shed a bit more light on typical WH protocols. 1/
WH has an big "advance" team that scouts out countries/cities weeks ahead to set up itinerary. "There’s always a backup plan to drive. He could have gotten there," my source said. Sometimes local officials fret about traffic but "no place would say no you absolutely can't go." 2/
The military would make the bad weather call to ground Marine One. The key is having enough time to scramble the backup plan -- usually at least an hour is needed, source said. WH would work with locals to put it in motion, predetermined street closures, police escorts, etc. 3/
Timing is a factor. If the Potus schedule is packed, driving might take too long. "That would have been something you take all the way up to the president. Hey we can’t fly, instead of a 20-min helo ride, it'll take a hour and a half drive. You give him the option to cancel." 4/
The source said US president would travel with a much larger motorcade footprint than would other leaders, such as Macron, Merkel and Trudeau, who all made it out of Paris for other events. Abroad, U.S. motorcade could be 60-70 vehicles incl locals. "No one rolls like we do." 5/
I asked whether Potus could have done an impromptu, unscheduled event, known in WH parlance as an "OTR" (off-the-record), in Paris, such as at a local memorial. Source said yes, element of surprise would allow Sec. Service confidence to let Potus do it w/o long-lead planning. 6/
"With 43 (Bush) every city we went to, we always had a few options about what do that would be unplanned and the security theory being if nobody knows we're coming they can’t plan do anything." Trump could have conceivably called an audible. 7/
My source is very experienced in WH planning. He was adamant: "I'm 100 percent sure they would have had a way to get there by vehicle." END/
