President Trump was secretly transported off Air Force One in an airport catering truck last month and departed Turkey on a separate military flight in response to a threat from Iran, according to a report by the Washington Post.
The operation, which occurred on July 8 as Trump departed the annual NATO Summit in Ankara, involved journalists and some White House staff believing they were on the same plane as the president.
In reality, Trump traveled on an Air Force C-32A, a smaller military jet, while a more visible older model of Air Force One served as a decoy. The elaborate ruse saw Trump publicly board the older Air Force One before being smuggled out in a catering truck. The truck was lifted to a door on the opposite side of the presidential plane's entrance, concealing Trump and several aides as they boarded the C-32A.
The C-32A, which also bore the markings "United States of America," reportedly landed at Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom approximately nine minutes before the decoy Air Force One arrived at the same location. Officials stated that War Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the secret flight with Trump and boarded separately via external stairs to further obscure the maneuver.
Upon arrival at Mildenhall, Trump, his staff, and reporters transferred to a newer, Qatari-gifted jet that Trump had used to travel to Turkey. Trump later spoke with reporters on this newer jet without disclosing the preceding secret flight. At the time of departure from Turkey, speculation arose regarding the use of the older Air Force One instead of the newer plane, but the White House denied any security concerns or links to Iranian threats.
However, a U.S. official told the Washington Post that the secret operation was initiated due to a "credible" Iranian threat against Trump's life. Intelligence officials had reportedly flagged a specific threat, with The Wall Street Journal reporting that Israel had tipped off the U.S. about a potential Iranian assassination plot targeting the president.
The White House did not deny the report of the secret flight. White House communications director Steven Cheung stated that the new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft with high-level security protocols. "As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats," Cheung said in a statement. An Air Force statement also highlighted the safety and advanced technologies of the presidential aircraft.