Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show,” has humorously critiqued former President Donald Trump's departure from Turkey last month, during which he reportedly used a catering truck to move between aircraft amid security concerns related to Iran.
Stewart questioned the secrecy of the operation on his podcast, "Weekly Show," joking about whether Trump had to don a disguise. "Here’s the question: Did he have to put on the cater waiter outfit?" Stewart quipped, with producer Gillian Spear adding that Trump "had a disguise. He dressed as a bellhop."
Stewart further elaborated on his comedic theory, suggesting the clandestine transfer involved a large table with a cloche, which was moved to a safe location before Trump emerged. "They brought him in on the big table and it had the little cloche on it and then they pulled it in, they got the table to the safe location and then they lifted the cloche — ‘Are you OK now, Mr. President?’ They put it back down," he described.
These remarks follow reports from The Washington Post and The New York Times detailing Trump's alleged secret transfer to an alternate military jet. According to these reports, Trump arrived in Turkey using a Qatari-gifted, retrofitted Air Force One. As he prepared to depart for the United Kingdom, he was reportedly moved to a separate, legacy Air Force One, which served as a decoy. Trump then boarded the decoy aircraft, made a public appearance as if he had been on it for the flight, and then transferred to the Qatari-gifted plane for the return journey to the U.S.
Critics have raised concerns that this maneuver, intended to evade a potential security threat from Iran, may have endangered passengers remaining on the decoy plane, including members of the press and some White House staffers. When asked by his producer if the White House press corps would be willing to risk their safety for the president, Stewart jokingly responded, "Absolutely."