White House officials melted down online after President Donald Trump was accused of using journalists as “bait” to escape a possible Iranian assassination threat. The operation was so tightly guarded that some White House staffers and reporters believed Trump was flying with them out of Turkey toward the United Kingdom. The revelation sparked a flashpoint between the White House and S.V. Dáte, White House correspondent at HuffPost, who wrote that journalists were made to be “bait for a possible attack,” and that the president “ran and hid.” “Crucial: if the threat was so serious President could not be on AF1 WHY did AF conduct the mission?”