US President Donald Trump acknowledged on Tuesday that he followed Secret Service and military instructions to secretly switch aircraft upon departing the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on July 8, amid security concerns over a credible Iranian threat.
According to intelligence reports, US authorities detected a threat involving a potential missile or targeted attack against the presidential aircraft, prompting security officials to orchestrate an elaborate covert maneuver at the airport.
After boarding Air Force One in full view of television cameras and media personnel, Trump and a small group of aides stepped onto an airport catering truck elevated on the opposite side of the plane. He was then secretly transported across the tarmac to a smaller military aircraft—a Boeing C-32A—while reporters and several White House staff remained on board the decoy Air Force One, unaware of the President's departure.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump downplayed the event while confirming the last-minute security protocol:
"It's only up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they'd like to do... They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, so I do what they say. I guess there was a threat out there. I get a lot of threats."
Addressing concerns about whether journalists and staff left aboard the decoy plane were placed in harm's way, Trump argued that the smaller aircraft he actually boarded faced equal, if not greater, risk if targeted.
The clandestine operation remained undisclosed until recent media reports surfaced, prompting calls from US lawmakers for congressional briefings on the handling of presidential security and intelligence during overseas travel.
