President Donald Trump secretly swapped planes after leaving a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, last month, transferring to a smaller military aircraft via an airport catering truck due to an Iranian assassination threat involving a potential shoulder-fired missile, while the older Air Force One served as an unwitting decoy with journalists and staff on board.
The extraordinary security operation, which left traveling reporters and several White House aides in the dark, unfolded on July 8 as President Donald Trump departed Ankara following annual meetings of NATO country leaders, according to reporting published by the Washington Post and subsequently corroborated by other outlets.
The Catering Truck Transfer and the Decoy Flight to Britain
Ahead of the departure from Ankara, the White House announced that the president would fly the first leg of his journey home to Washington aboard an older-model Boeing VC-25A serving as Air Force One. The public departure included television cameras recording Trump boarding the legacy jumbo jet in view of the press pack before it flew to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom.
Photo: Forbes
However, according to details reviewed by the Washington Post, minutes after boarding the older aircraft, Trump was secretly moved to a smaller military plane parked nearby. To exit without being spotted by uninvolved observers, the president and a small group of aides stepped aboard an airport catering truck—typically used to load meals and supplies—which was elevated planeside via hydraulics to a door on the opposite side of the aircraft’s entrance.
Trump was transferred to an Air Force C-32A, a smaller jet primarily utilized by the vice president and senior cabinet members.
Journalists and remaining staff on the decoy jet were advised to lower their window shades ahead of takeoff and were not informed that the president was no longer on board until reports surfaced publicly days later.
Shoulder-Fired Missile Fears and Intelligence Warnings Out of Ankara
The stealthy transfer was prompted by acute security concerns regarding a potential Iranian assassination attempt. U.S. intelligence learned that operatives had tracked down information regarding which hotel floor Trump was staying on in Ankara, and an unidentified individual was spotted with a shoulder-fired missile near the conference of NATO heads of state.
“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, a different plane for safety. They wanted me to do it, so I did it. I did what they said.”
President Donald Trump, via the Associated Press
Trump added that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.
Media Fallout, Decoy Debate, and Political Reactions
The revelation ignited a sharp debate across American media networks and political circles. Cable news hosts and commentators questioned the ethics of keeping traveling journalists and aides on a decoy aircraft without their knowledge.
Critics, including Democratic Party consultant and former presidential adviser David Axelrod, argued that if the threat level was high enough to warrant a decoy plane with journalists aboard, those passengers deserved to know the risks. Conversely, defenders of the administration emphasized that the primary mandate of the Secret Service is protecting the president.
“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.”
New BOMBSHELL reporting from WaPo details why Trump secretly switched planes
Steven Cheung, White House communications director, via the Associated Press
The episode also renewed attention surrounding a newly inaugurated, Qatari-gifted jet that Trump had used to fly to Ankara for its international debut. While the White House initially claimed that sending the Qatari-gifted aircraft ahead of departure was intended to give U.S. troops stationed in eastern England a tour, subsequent reports indicated that security concerns surrounding the new plane’s lack of advanced defensive countermeasures also contributed to the travel adjustments. After landing at RAF Mildenhall in the U.K., Trump reboarded the older Air Force One in view of the press pack before transferring to the Qatari-donated jet for the final leg to Joint Base Andrews.
