Due to an Iranian assassination threat, the US president was secretly transferred to a smaller aircraft after the summit in Ankara. Journalists and some White House staff were unaware for hours that he was not with them on the presidential plane.
Last month, US President Donald Trump left the NATO summit in Turkey in complete secrecy. While cameras captured his boarding of the older presidential aircraft Air Force One, the 80-year-old president was transported in a food delivery vehicle to a smaller military plane, a C-32A, which flew him out of the country. The deception operation, revealed by the Washington Post on Monday, was undertaken due to a credible Iranian assassination threat.
The details of this unusual security measure reveal the lengths to which US authorities are willing to go to protect the president. Only a few people knew the real plan, while journalists and some White House staff believed Trump was on Air Force One, which actually served as a decoy.
Trump arrived at the Ankara summit on a new aircraft, a Boeing 747-8, which was gifted to the United States by Qatar. That aircraft was refurbished by defense company L3Harris Technologies and is intended to serve as a temporary presidential plane until Boeing delivers the new generation of Air Force One.
However, before returning, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that he would fly to the British base RAF Mildenhall on the older, light-blue Air Force One "for old times' sake." He explained this as a desire to allow US soldiers stationed at that base to inspect the new aircraft.
After climbing the steps of the older Air Force One in front of cameras, Trump was secretly transferred to a food delivery vehicle positioned next to the plane. That vehicle drove him to a smaller military C-32A aircraft, which then flew toward the United Kingdom.
According to the Washington Post report, which cites a US official familiar with the operation, not even all White House employees who boarded in Turkey knew that the president was not with them on the plane. Journalists covering the president's travels were ordered to lower the window shades in the press cabin before takeoff.
The C-32A carrying Trump arrived in the UK around 22:20, a few minutes before the older Air Force One. When journalists later asked him why they had to keep the shades down, Trump replied that the reason was probably that they were on a "dangerous flight." "But if I go, you go too. Right?" he added.
Reuters video footage from July 8 shows Trump climbing the steps of the older Air Force One in Ankara. Journalists traveling with the president reported that he exited the aircraft at 22:56 local time. He gave them a victory sign but did not approach to speak with them. He then spent some time greeting members of the US armed forces before heading toward the new aircraft donated by Qatar.
The Washington Post notes that it is unclear how Trump was transferred from the C-32A back to the older Air Force One after arriving in the UK. In the United States, he appeared before cameras from the presidential aircraft, giving the impression that he had been on it the entire time.
The White House did not directly comment on the details of the operation. Communications director Steven Cheung provided only a general statement: "As the president recently said, there are many enemies of America who have taken aim at him, and we are using every means at our disposal to respond to those threats."
The Pentagon has not yet responded to a request for comment. The trip to the NATO summit was the first international journey of the new aircraft, whose accelerated modification raised questions about cost and security, and it occurred amid escalating hostilities with Iran, which borders Turkey.
A similar operation was carried out in 2000, when President Bill Clinton flew to Pakistan on an unmarked official aircraft, while Air Force One served as a decoy.
