The Trump Hunter Becomes the Hunted

Recently, one of President Trump’s sons decided to ditch his secret service protection. This was a risky move for the son and the country. If Donald Trump Jr., an avid hunter who reportedly decided to go on a hunting trip in the Canadian wilderness without protection, were to fall into the wrong hands, the entire country would be in danger. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Instead, the country won an interesting story about Trump’s son and the reporter who tracked him down.

Luke Dittrich is a reporter for The New York Times. He is also an avid hunter who happened to have connections in the Canadian wilderness. On the evening of September 14, 2017, Dittrich received a call from a friend in Canada saying someone who looked like Donald Trump Jr. was waiting for luggage at the airport in Whitehorse. Dittrich quickly put the pieces together and realized the person indeed had to be President Trump’s son.

It didn’t take long for Dittrich to determine he wanted to meet the younger Donald Trump. However, Dittrich knew this was easier said than done. Dittrich knew Trump had to be somewhere in the Yukon, but that only narrowed the search down to an area of about 33,897 square miles. Thankfully, Dittrich knew there were only about 19 outfitters who could be escorting Trump somewhere on his hunting trip. After speaking to some connections with those outfitters, Dittrich had a rough idea of where Trump would be in the wilderness. He also surmised Trump would be along a river, and he would probably be hunting moose.

Unfortunately, Dittrich realized trekking into the wilderness after Trump would be a bad idea. He would need to talk to a specific outfitter to gain access to the camp, and that would surely get back to Trump. In other words, if Dittrich went into the wilderness, Trump’s son would probably spook like a deer. Instead, Dittrich waited for signs from his connections that an important hunting trip had concluded. He then hunkered down at the airport in Whitehorse. Dittrich knew Trump would need to use that airport to leave.

In the end, Dittrich was exactly right. He found Trump alone in the terminal, and he was able to speak to him off the record. In other words, while one of the most important men in the world was out hunting, a lone reporter was able to successfully hunt down the hunter.