President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that he was secretly taken off Air Force One during his return from Turkey because the Secret Service and military wanted him on a “different plane” due to an Iranian assassination threat. After attending the NATO Summit in Ankara, Trump famously told the press, “If I go, you go” on board Air Force One; on Tuesday, he denied that the passengers in the plane were used as a decoy, claiming the military plane he flew in was at a greater risk. On his return from Turkey to the U.K., Trump first switched from the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One to the old baby blue Air Force One, stirring speculation over the new plane’s security. Later this week, the Washington Post reported that Trump wasn’t on the older plane either, as he was secretly transported to a military C-32 plane through an airport catering truck while leaving the press and some White House officials on the Air Force One.
When asked why it was safe enough to leave the passengers as decoys, Trump downplayed the risk to the people. “I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump said. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for,” he said after returning from an event in Ohio.
Trump’s comments confirmed the details of the secret mission that first appeared in The Washington Post. Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled aboard Air Force One, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the other plane along with Trump.
However, as per the publication, all three Cabinet members knew that the President had secretly switched planes. Trump publicly stated at the time that he would be flying on the old Air Force One, and not flying on the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet because the newer aircraft was being sent to a base in the U.K. so service members could tour it.
However, on Tuesday, he shared that he had little choice in the matter as he was bound to follow the instructions from the Secret Service. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, different plane,” Trump told reporters. “I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it,” he said.
Similar operations of using decoy planes have been executed before, with schedules and logistics kept classified until after for safety reasons. However, in this case, Trump’s whereabouts were kept secret for weeks and only came out following the report from the Post, something believed to be unprecedented.
