President Donald Trump has characterized a covert plane switch he made last month as a routine procedure following a Secret Service request, despite intelligence reports of potential Iranian assassination attempts. The clandestine maneuver saw Trump transferred from the official Air Force One to a smaller C-32A aircraft via a catering truck.
"I just follow what they'd like me to do," Trump told reporters on Tuesday, explaining his compliance with the Secret Service's directive. "They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, so I do it. I do what they say."
Trump, who was en route back from the NATO summit in Turkey, downplayed the significance of the intelligence that prompted the security measure, stating he receives numerous threats. He also expressed a belief that the C-32A he traveled on was actually at greater risk than the Air Force One jet.
"I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk! I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane, I think that they would be more likely to go for it," he said.
The president initially flew to the summit aboard a new Boeing 747-8 jet gifted by Qatar. Before returning, he announced he would travel back via the United Kingdom on an older Air Force One model. Upon boarding the legacy Air Force One in Ankara, Trump was reportedly concealed within a catering container attached to the plane's belly. This container was then transported by a catering truck to a waiting C-32A, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly boarding the smaller aircraft to enhance the illusion of a standard flight.
Journalists and some White House staffers on the decoy Air Force One were reportedly unaware of the switch and were instructed to close their window shades. After both aircraft landed in the UK, Trump was allegedly transferred back to the legacy Air Force One and later departed for Washington on the Qatari-donated plane with the White House press pool.
During a subsequent conversation with journalists on that flight, Trump highlighted the threats posed by Iran, noting that he is "number one" on Iran's list. This statement followed reports of Iranian media displaying banners with his caricature under a bullseye and threats against First Lady Melania Trump and Barron Trump. White House communications director Steven Cheung had previously suggested that the administration employs "distraction and misdirection" to counter threats against the president.