Trump Secretly Escaped Air Force One in Catering Truck After Credible Iranian Threat
President Donald Trump was secretly removed from Air Force One in an airport catering truck and flown out of Turkey aboard a separate military aircraft last month after U.S. officials received intelligence about a credible Iranian threat against his life.
The extraordinary security operation took place following the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 8. Journalists and even some White House staff believed Trump was traveling with them aboard an older Air Force One, but the presidential aircraft was actually being used as a decoy.
Trump publicly boarded Air Force One as expected. Once inside, however, a catering container was raised to a door on the opposite side of the aircraft, allowing the president and several aides to enter without being seen by reporters or others watching from the tarmac.
The container was then lowered onto a catering truck and driven across the airport to a nearby Air Force C-32A. The smaller blue-and-white military aircraft closely resembles the presidential plane and carries the words “United States of America,” helping officials keep Trump’s movements concealed.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth accompanied Trump on the secret flight but reportedly boarded separately using exterior stairs. The move was designed to make the C-32A’s departure appear routine and avoid drawing attention to the fact that the president was aboard.
The C-32A then departed Ankara and carried Trump to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. The president’s aircraft arrived roughly nine minutes before the decoy Air Force One carrying reporters and White House personnel reached the same base.
Trump eventually reappeared and was seen descending the stairs from Air Force One about 25 minutes after the decoy aircraft landed. It remains unclear exactly how security officials moved him from the C-32A back to the presidential aircraft without revealing the operation.
Trump, White House staff and reporters later boarded the $400 million Qatari-donated jet being temporarily used as Air Force One. Once aboard, Trump spoke with reporters for several minutes without revealing that he had secretly traveled separately from them during the first leg of the journey.
The elaborate operation was reportedly triggered by intelligence indicating a credible Iranian threat against Trump. Israel had reportedly alerted the United States to a potential Iranian assassination plot, prompting security officials to take extraordinary precautions while moving the president out of Turkey.
The previously secret operation offers a dramatic look at the measures being taken to protect Trump as threats from Iran remain a serious national security concern. By using Air Force One as a decoy and secretly transporting the president aboard a separate military jet, officials were able to conceal Trump’s true location even from many of the people traveling with him.