Like Trump, China’s first emperor survived various assassination attempts
Would-be assassins came close to ending Ying Zheng’s life on at least four occasions, including one whose weapon was a musical instrument
Donald Trump’s recent departure from Turkey was far more elaborate than it appeared. After attending a Nato summit in Ankara in July, the US president was publicly seen boarding Air Force One for the flight to Britain. This was, in fact, a decoy. Trump was secretly transferred from the aircraft and taken across the tarmac in a catering truck to a smaller Air Force C-32A military jet.
The operation was prompted by intelligence indicating a credible Iranian threat to assassinate him, amid the escalating conflict between Washington and Tehran.
The deception extended to the journalists and US officials flying on Air Force One, who apparently believed Trump was aboard and whose lives would have been at risk had an assassination attempt taken place. The two planes subsequently landed in Britain only minutes apart. Trump later rejoined the travelling party, preserving the appearance of a normal presidential journey.
The US president survived two actual assassination attempts in 2024, while in April this year there was also the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner for which a man has been charged with attempting to assassinate a United States president.
The most famous attempt came in 227BC, when Jing Ke, acting on behalf of the state of Yan, gained an audience with Ying Zheng by presenting a strategic map. As the map was slowly unrolled, a dagger was revealed. Jing Ke seized the king’s sleeve and lunged.