The White House recently facilitated the evacuation of MAGA influencers from the Middle East using a private jet, while over a million regular Americans remain stranded with limited means of escape.
Among those who managed to leave were Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz, dogwalker Sarah Daither, and ex-lobbyist Jay Footlik. The group departed the region following the chaos triggered by US strikes on Iran, thanks to a plane chartered by Bruesewitz.
“This has been the wildest experience of my life,” Bruesewitz shared with Politico.
“I’m thankful to everyone who contributed to our escape from the active war zone to safety. I can’t wait to return to the USA, the greatest country in the world!” he added.
Bruesewitz leveraged his connections at the White House, alongside officials in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, to secure a safe passage for the group. This became necessary after numerous airports shut down and the US Embassy advised its employees to stay put.
The group eventually landed in Greece around midnight local time, as it was the closest destination with a strong US connection for Bruesewitz. Kimberly Guilfoyle, who previously dated Donald Trump Jr., serves as a US ambassador to the Mediterranean nation.
White House Chief of Staff James Blair and Representative Anna Paulina Luna helped secure a safe route for the group, Bruesewitz said on X.
He also thanked Saudi officials for ‘ensuring that the other Americans and I could safely board our flight and depart the Gulf without incident.’
Trump Adviser, Alex Bruesewitz (right front), dogwalker Sarah Daither (middle left), former lobbyist Jay Footlik, and others managed to escape on a private plane
Bruesewitz (pictured with his wife) paid for jet and the group managed to escape with the help of US and Middle Eastern officials
Guilfoyle’s staff made sure the crew had a safe landing in Athens, despite the ‘short notice,’ he said.
‘The past 72 hours have been utterly surreal, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,’ he wrote. ‘Iranian missiles were flying directly over my head.’
Daither had been on an African safari and had a layover in Doha, Qatar, on her way back to the States when she got stuck there due to the military escalation in Iran, sources close to Bruesewitz told the Daily Beast.
She had posted about being stranded on her social media, which Bruesewitz saw before contacting her, offering her a ride home on his chartered jet.
Bruesewitz is staying in the region to help coordinate other private evacuations, the Daily Best reported.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House, Luna, and Bruesewitz for comment.
Americans in 16 countries – including Israel, Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia – were instructed by the US State Department to ‘DEPART NOW’ using commercial transportation due to the ‘serious safety risks.’
The US Embassy in Jerusalem has warned staff to shelter in place as it is unable to evacuate anyone. The Tel Aviv airport remains closed and Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport is running limited service.
The group was individually trapped in the Middle East after the Trump Administration issued military strikes in Iran on Saturday morning
White House Chief of Staff James Blair, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, and US Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle helped the crew get to Athens, Greece, safely
The Israeli Ministry of Tourism is running shuttle buses to get stranded Americans out of the country, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said.
Multiple US embassies were on high alert on Tuesday.
Embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait came under attack as the State Department ordered the evacuation of non-emergency personnel and family in Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan and the UAE.
A government source said more than a million Americans are believed to be in the region.
It came as the US and Israel launched a fresh wave of strikes on Iran’s capital, Tehran, warning civilians in Persian to evacuate the Hakimiya Industrial Zone and the area around Payam Airport in Karaj, where they were striking military targets.
The announcement followed an overnight barrage the Israelis said destroyed key government and security compounds in Tehran.
Donald Trump warned ‘the big one is coming’ and that ‘the big wave hasn’t even happened.’
President Donald Trump announced the initial US strike on Iran at 2.30am on Saturday from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Several US embassies are under threat in Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Kuwait as Iran continues its retaliatory strikes
Trump issued strikes on Iran on Saturdaying morning, saying the US was ‘not gonna put up’ with Iran’s behavior ‘any longer’
‘Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,’ the Republican said.
‘Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world.’
Trump detailed some of the violence Iran has perpetrated against Americans, including taking over the US embassy in Tehran and holding US citizens hostage in 1979.
‘The regime’s proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years as well as US Naval and commercial vessels in international shipping lanes,’ Trump said.
‘It’s been mass terror, and we’re not gonna put up with it any longer.’
