President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that he secretly switched aircraft during a July trip to Turkey because of a threat to his life, after the Washington Post revealed that he had been smuggled off Air Force One in a catering truck while the plane departed with journalists and top aides still aboard.
The Washington Post reported Monday that Trump exited the presidential plane while it was on the ground in Turkey on July 8, as his security team executed a plan to evade an assassination threat. The operation reportedly smuggled him off Air Force One before the plane departed still carrying journalists and top aides who remained at apparent risk of an Iranian strike, raising questions over US security practices.
According to the Post’s account, Trump boarded the presidential plane in full view of video cameras and photographers, with AFP pictures showing two supply containers on hydraulic lifts positioned at the front and rear of the aircraft. He then reportedly left the plane quickly, stepping inside one of the cargo containers, to board a smaller US Air Force aircraft positioned nearby.
At the time, Trump claimed the second plane was being sent ahead so US troops stationed in Britain could tour it, describing it as “a treat.” During a stopover in Britain, he then returned to the Qatar-gifted aircraft for the remainder of the flight to Washington.
Dispatches from pool media on board noted an unusual Secret Service order that window shades be lowered during takeoff — an instruction rarely given outside combat zones. Asked at the time why journalists had been told to lower their window blinds, Trump said it was “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”
Speaking to reporters during a gaggle on Tuesday, Trump confirmed that he had secretly switched planes because of a threat to his life. “They wanted me to go in a different flight, a different plane — equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” he said. “I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it.”
Some traveling media expressed anger at having unwittingly served as decoys, while others complained about deception and a lack of communication from the White House. Trump, addressing the press corps’ role, remarked, “If I go, you go. Right? Perhaps someday you want to change professions.”
The White House has not directly responded to the alleged plane swap. Communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement, “There are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”
Secret presidential plane swaps are not unprecedented. In 2000, President Bill Clinton switched planes at the last minute while traveling from India to Pakistan, using a decoy aircraft carrying Secret Service agents. President Joe Biden’s 2023 visit to Ukraine was similarly shrouded in strict secrecy during a lengthy journey by plane and train, though he was accompanied by a reporter and photographer throughout.
The revelations have prompted calls for greater transparency from lawmakers. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that Congress should be briefed “on the Iranian threats against the president, the extraordinary measures taken” to protect him during the trip.
The episode has renewed scrutiny of the balance between presidential security protocols and transparency with the press corps that travels with the president, particularly given reports that journalists and staff remained aboard the original aircraft after Trump had already disembarked.
