U.S. President Donald Trump was secretly moved out of Turkey aboard a military aircraft last month after U.S. officials received what they considered a credible Iranian threat against him and Air Force One, according to reports by The Washington Post and The New York Times.
The extraordinary security operation involved Trump publicly boarding one Air Force One aircraft before being concealed in an airport catering vehicle and transferred to a third plane, while reporters covering the president were allowed to believe he was traveling aboard the aircraft being used as a decoy.
Trump had arrived in Ankara for the NATO summit aboard the newly renovated Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, marking the aircraft’s first international presidential trip.
But as tensions with Iran escalated, officials devised an elaborate plan to conceal which aircraft would actually carry the president out of Turkey.
Trump announced that he would leave aboard one of the older Air Force One jets, saying on Truth Social that he wanted to use the familiar powder-blue aircraft “for old time’s sake.”
The Qatari-donated plane traveled ahead to RAF Mildenhall, a U.S. military base in Britain, where Trump said American service members would be allowed to tour it.
Trump then boarded the older Air Force One in Ankara in full view of cameras.
But he never left Turkey aboard it.
According to The New York Times, Trump was instead taken inside a catering vehicle positioned beneath the aircraft. He was then transferred by car to a third plane, identified by The Washington Post as a U.S. Air Force C-32A, a military version of the Boeing 757.
Trump secretly flew aboard the C-32A to Britain, arriving at around 10:20 p.m. The older Air Force One, carrying members of the press, landed minutes later.
Air Force One used as decoy
The New York Times reported that the security measures were taken because officials had received a credible Iranian threat against Trump and Air Force One.
The threat was not limited to the Qatari-donated aircraft. Instead, Iran was believed to be targeting Trump regardless of which plane he used, according to the report.
The lengths taken to conceal his movements indicated that officials considered the threat serious enough to deliberately misdirect observers about the president’s location.
The operation also meant that reporters traveling with the president reported that Trump was aboard an aircraft that was in fact being used as a decoy.
(Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP)
The White House had previously suggested that deception could play a role in protecting the president.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said that the administration uses “every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection” to respond to threats against Trump.
Asked about the disclosure of the secret flight, Cheung said the Qatari-donated aircraft had been equipped with high-level security measures to protect the president and his staff.
He added that the United States employs all available measures to respond to enemies who may seek to target the president.
The Pentagon referred questions about the operation to the White House, according to The New York Times, and did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.