President Donald Trump was secretly smuggled off Air Force One and onto a decoy military aircraft as he left a NATO summit in Turkey last month, US media reported Monday, after intelligence officials detected what they described as a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at his plane.
According to the BBC, which cited reporting by the Washington Post and its own US partner CBS News, Trump boarded the older Air Force One jet in full view of television cameras at Ankara airport on July 8, telling reporters he wanted to fly it home "for old time's sake." Minutes later, he and a small group of aides were quietly moved through an elevated catering truck to a smaller Air Force C-32A — a modified Boeing 757 typically used by the vice president — parked on the opposite side of the aircraft. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately by external stairs to make the switch look routine, the Washington Post reported.
Journalists and some White House staff boarded the original Air Force One believing the president was still aboard, and were instructed to close their window shades before takeoff, unaware Trump was no longer on the plane, according to CBS News. Trump flew separately to the United Kingdom, where he then boarded the newer, Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 for the final leg back to Washington.
Speaking to reporters aboard the Qatari jet afterward, Trump did not mention the plane switch directly but addressed why he'd ordered the window shades lowered on the earlier flight:
Because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags we have to deal with.
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One
He added that he faces a "threat all the time" on his life and is "number one" on Iran's "list."
A Threat Rooted in Renewed Strikes on Iran
The clandestine switch came a day after the United States resumed military strikes on Iran following the breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, and after Trump had told those at the NATO summit he was Iran's "number one target." US intelligence had previously flagged a specific threat against Trump or his aircraft, the BBC reported, citing earlier CBS News coverage. Older presidential jets are fitted with laser countermeasures designed to blind incoming missiles; it is unclear what defensive systems the newer Qatari-donated aircraft carries.
The White House has not directly confirmed the operation. Communications director Steven Cheung declined to confirm or deny the reports but described the newer Air Force One as a "state-of-the-art aircraft" equipped to protect the president and his staff. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CBS News the jet "is perfectly safe for the President's travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall."
The episode adds to weeks of scrutiny over the Qatari jet, after the New York Times reported the Secret Service had urged Trump to switch planes on his return from the summit — reporting that prompted several Times journalists to be summoned to testify under oath, with the Justice Department telling the BBC it is investigating what it considers illegal leaks. The disclosures underscore the lengths the administration has gone to shield the president's movements amid the confrontation with Tehran, even as it withholds official confirmation of details now emerging in public.
