Chilling details have emerged regarding former President Donald Trump's alleged method of evading an Iranian assassination attempt in Turkey last month, with critics branding him a 'coward' for reportedly fleeing his newly built Air Force One aboard a catering cart.
According to reports, Trump departed a NATO summit in Turkey by secretly leaving his presidential jet and boarding a separate military aircraft. Trump had traveled to Turkey on a new 747-8 aircraft, which had undergone extensive security upgrades funded by the Trump administration. This plane was a donation from Qatari officials.
While Trump was later seen on camera boarding an older model Air Force One jumbo jet in Ankara, officials stated that he had entered a food cart concealed in the plane's belly due to threats from Iranian officials. These threats reportedly followed the death of Ayatollah Khamenei, with Iranian officials placing a bounty on Trump's head in retaliation.
The catering cart, containing Trump, was then loaded onto an airport catering truck and transported to a smaller Air Force C-32A plane. This maneuver reportedly deceived journalists and some White House staffers on board the 'decoy' Air Force One, which the Secret Service had deemed unsafe for the President.
Journalists on the older Air Force One were not briefed on the specific threat posed by Iran or informed that their aircraft had been deemed unsafe for Trump. They were instructed to close their window shades.
Critics reacted sharply to the report. X user Tom Joseph wrote, "Trump is a coward... He endangered their lives to protect himself. It was his incompetence that lost the war to Iran and his corruption that got the Qatari jet in the first place." HuffPost White House reporter SV Date told fellow journalists and officials, "Trump was ready to let you die while he secretly made his escape." Liberal commentators, including Ron Filipkowski and Tommy Vietor, also voiced criticism, with Vietor calling Trump a "scared little b***."
Video footage from the tarmac shows Trump waving to cameras as he entered the older plane. Subsequently, a truck was seen approaching the steps of the new Air Force One. The video reportedly shows a man in a suit entering the catering truck's cab, followed by the loading of a container into the truck bed. Upon being lowered, a person in a suit emerged from the truck.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was later seen boarding the C-32A using regular stairs, an action seen as an attempt to maintain the appearance of a typical departure.
The C-32A flight taken by Trump and Hegseth reportedly used the call sign 'Reach 18' or 'RCH18.'
When questioned about the incident, White House official Steven Cheung did not directly address the controversy. Instead, he stated, "The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff. 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."
Iranian officials have publicly called for the assassination of Trump and other high-ranking administration officials. In the past month, demonstrators have displayed banners with a bullseye graphic over Trump's image. Iranian media has also issued threats against First Lady Melania Trump and Barron Trump.
