President Donald Trump was secretly ferried away from Turkey last month and used a catering truck to covertly transfer him from Air Force One to a smaller plane amid an assassination threat from Iran, The Washington Post reported.
The operation reportedly took place a night after Trump directed U.S. military strikes on Iran after failed negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end their war. Trump, who was in Ankara for a NATO summit and traveled to Turkey aboard a luxurious 747-8 gifted by Qatar, announced on social media that he would use the “former Air Force One” instead for “old time’s sake.”
However, after television cameras captured Trump boarding the old Air Force One ahead of its journey to the United Kingdom, the president sneaked onto a catering truck usually designated for loading in-flight meals and was shuttled to a smaller Air Force C-32A plane, according to The Post, which cited a U.S. official and corroborating material.
Air Force One — which carried media and some White House staff members who believed they were on board the same flight as the president — served as a “decoy,” said the official. According to a media pool report, journalists and White House staff were instructed to close their window shades aboard the legacy jet.
After landing, a media pool report stated that Trump was seen descending the stairs from Air Force One and hopped on the Qatar-provided aircraft where he was joined by staff and press. It is not clear how the president moved from the C-32A to the legacy plane.
According to The Post, when speaking to reporters aboard the Washington-bound jet, Trump was asked why they were directed to lower the window shades during the flight from Turkey. The president replied that it was “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with,” adding that he has a “threat all the time” against his life.”
“But if I go, you go. Right?” he said to the journalists. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions.”
In July, The Times reported that the Qatari jet appeared to lack the proper security measures and harbored security vulnerabilities. ABC News reported at the time that the Secret Service urged Trump to depart Turkey on the old Air Force One instead of the gifted plane due to escalations with Iran.
“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,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to The Post. “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.”
