US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he secretly switched planes after leaving a NATO summit in Turkey last month following a possible security threat.
Trump said the US Secret Service and military officials instructed him to use a different aircraft as he departed the summit, adding that he followed their advice because of the potential danger.
“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane,” Trump told reporters.
The revelation followed reports that Trump appeared to board Air Force One at Ankara airport on July 8, before secretly leaving the aircraft through a catering truck and being transported to a smaller military jet.
US officials told CBS News that American authorities had detected a credible threat involving a possible missile attack against the president’s aircraft. The New York Times also reported that US intelligence had information about a person near the NATO summit who was allegedly seen with a shoulder-fired missile.
Trump, however, said the military aircraft he eventually boarded was itself at greater risk.
“I guess there was a threat out there,” Trump said during a visit to Ohio. “I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”
He added that there were other threats against him that the public was unaware of.
The secret operation reportedly involved a carefully planned deception. Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar but had announced that he would leave on the older Air Force One “for old time’s sake.”
Footage showed Trump boarding the presidential aircraft on July 8. However, according to the Washington Post, he later slipped from the aircraft onto a catering truck positioned on the opposite side before being secretly driven to a C-32A military aircraft, a modified Boeing 757 commonly used by the vice-president.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs, helping maintain the appearance that the flight was proceeding normally.
Journalists and some White House staff remained aboard the original Air Force One and were reportedly instructed to keep the aircraft’s window shades closed. They were unaware that the president was no longer on board.
A media pool producer later said the instruction appeared unusual, while a photographer who briefly opened a shade was reportedly told to close it.
The White House Correspondents’ Association said there also appeared to be catering trucks positioned at both the front and rear of the aircraft, while the media van had been too far back in the airport motorcade to capture images of Trump boarding.
Although “Air Force One” is technically the call sign used by any aircraft carrying the US president, the C-32A carrying Trump used the call sign “Reach 18,” while the aircraft carrying journalists continued using “AF1” to maintain the deception.
Members of Trump’s cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, were reportedly among those who remained on the original aircraft.
Trump later travelled to the UK, where he reboarded the older Air Force One before returning to the US. He subsequently transferred to the newer Qatari-donated aircraft for his journey back to Washington.
The exact circumstances surrounding his transfer from the C-32A back to the older Air Force One remain unclear.
The incident has raised questions about the nature of the security threat, the decision to keep journalists and senior officials aboard the original aircraft, and how much information was withheld from those involved in the operation.
Jose Zamora, regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the Trump administration had a responsibility to ensure journalists covering the president were not unnecessarily exposed to danger.
He added that reporters should be informed about credible security threats so they could make informed decisions about their safety.
