Trump Secretly Ditched Air Force One for Military Plane Amid Assassination Threat: Report

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

President Donald Trump was secretly whisked off Air Force One in an airport catering truck and flown out of Turkey aboard a different military aircraft last month after officials identified a credible Iranian assassination threat, according to a bombshell report from The Washington Post.

The elaborate operation took place on July 8 as Trump departed Ankara following a NATO summit and one day after the U.S. renewed military strikes on Iran. While the White House publicly maintained that Trump traveled to Britain aboard the legacy Air Force One — not his gifted Qatari jet — the president was actually aboard an Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757, the Post reported.

While the Trump administration initially said the president was switching planes to the original Air Force One to show off his Qatari-gifted jet to U.S. troops stationed in the U.K., The New York Times later reported that the move was prompted by security concerns surrounding the aircraft.

As the Post article details, though, in reality, Trump first boarded the familiar blue-and-white Air Force One on July 8 in view of television cameras. Minutes later, however, Trump and several aides secretly exited through another door and entered an airport catering truck that had been raised to the aircraft.

The truck then transported them to the smaller C-32A, leaving journalists and some White House staff aboard Air Force One unaware that Trump was no longer with them. One U.S. official described the plane carrying the press and staff as a “decoy.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth separately boarded the C-32A and traveled with Trump to Britain, according to the report. The secret flight reportedly used the nondescript call sign “Reach 18,” while the legacy plane carrying reporters and staff eventually appeared on flight trackers as “AF1” despite Trump not being aboard.

The operation was reportedly triggered by a credible Iran-linked threat against Trump or his aircraft amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. Trump has repeatedly discussed threats against his life from Iran, telling reporters after arriving in Britain that he was “number one” on the country’s “list.”

The White House continued the ruse after Trump arrived in Britain, posting that he had landed “aboard the former Air Force One.” Trump was seen descending from that aircraft before later boarding the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8 for the flight back to Washington.

Asked that night why reporters had been ordered to close their window shades before leaving Turkey, Trump cited the danger posed by U.S. adversaries.

“But if I go, you go. Right?” Trump told reporters. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions.”

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