The American President Donald Trump will pay a lightning visit to the Netherlands from Tuesday evening. He will stay in our country for less than 24 hours for the NATO summit. The extreme security measures surrounding this summit have mainly been taken because of his arrival.
Trump will join King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima for an informal dinner on Tuesday evening. Other government leaders and heads of state who are attending the NATO summit will also take part.
On Wednesday morning, Trump will attend the meeting of the North Atlantic Council. There, the decision will be formally taken that member states will spend more money on defense.
Trump’s lightning visit requires extreme security measures. Most government leaders and heads of state are well protected, but the security surrounding the President of the United States is in a league of its own. And that is clearly noticeable in a large part of the Randstad this week.
The extreme security measures surrounding the NATO summit have been aimed from the start at ensuring that the American President can also be received. That is why 27,000 police officers, 5,000 soldiers, thousands of military police and a lot of weaponry are now being deployed. In the photo below, the Ministry of Defense is blocking the entrance to the A44 in Leiden. That is part of the route that government leaders travel to The Hague.
Trump can travel to The Hague by road or by air
Trump will land on the Polderbaan at Schiphol Airport on Tuesday evening with his government plane Air Force One. That runway has been specially reserved for government leaders. His limousine (The Beast) and helicopter (Marine One) are already ready. In the photo below you can see The Beast has already driven a bit on the Dutch roads.
The agricultural area that is wedged between the Polderbaan, Hoofddorp, Vijfhuizen and Badhoevedorp is hermetically sealed off from the outside world. That area is heavily guarded by the Ministry of Defense, but also by the police and the military police. This is to prevent malicious parties from getting too close to the government planes.
Months of preparation for a visit of less than 24 hours
President Trump is protected by the American Secret Service. People from this secret service have been preparing Trump’s visit together with the Dutch authorities in recent months. The Americans have a considerable list of requirements for this.
One of the most visible requirements is that the route that the president drives is completely closed off days in advance. This gives the Secret Service the opportunity to check the entire route for the presence of, for example, explosives.
Incidentally, it is still questionable whether Trump will travel to The Hague by road or by air. That will be kept secret until the last moment. If he travels by road, he will do so in a convoy of dozens of vehicles with flashing lights and heavily armed security guards.
Cameras and sharpshooters keep an eye on everything
Everywhere Trump travels and stays there is close supervision. There are sharpshooters, cameras and even air defense installations. Everything is also closely monitored in the air. The Americans also use jammers against, for example, drones or explosives that can be detonated remotely.
Trump will spend the night from Tuesday to Wednesday in Hotel Huis ter Duin in Noordwijk. That hotel has been used before for visits by world leaders. As you can see in the photo below, the area around the hotel is completely closed off. Even on the beach in front of the hotel there are fences that extend far into the sea.
There is also extreme security in the North Sea. A large part of the Dutch coast is closed to shipping and is guarded by heavily armed naval ships.
All those security measures are taken for a visit that lasts less than 24 hours. Shortly after the meeting with the North Atlantic Council, the Air Force One will take off again from Schiphol to take the American President to his next destination.
