Secret Air Force One Switch After Iran Threat

Television footage later showed Trump coming down the external stairs from Air Force One about 25 minutes after that plane landed. The report said it was unclear how he moved from the C-32A to the other aircraft. Once in Mildenhall, Trump, White House staff and reporters boarded the $400 million Qatari-gifted jet that he had used to fly into Turkey. He later walked to the back of the plane and spoke with reporters for several minutes without revealing that he had not traveled with them on the first leg of the trip.

Questions had already been building at the time because Trump was departing Turkey on the older presidential plane rather than the newer and more luxurious aircraft. The White House and Trump denied that the aircraft change was tied to Iran or to any security concern with the newer plane, which he is using temporarily while Boeing works on replacement Air Force One aircraft. Still, the new report says the operation was triggered by a “credible” threat from Iran against Trump’s life.

A US official told the Washington Post that the exact nature of the threat was not disclosed. Separate reports last month said intelligence officials had flagged a specific threat against the president. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Israel alerted the United States to a possible Iranian assassination plot aimed at Trump.

The White House did not deny the account of the secret flight on Monday night. Communications director Steven Cheung defended the Qatari-gifted plane, saying it is fitted with high-level security protocols and that the administration uses every available tool to deal with threats against the president. The Air Force also backed the aircraft, calling it safe, secure and equipped with advanced technology for the presidential mission. For American readers, the episode underscores how seriously the government treats threats to a sitting president and how much attention now surrounds Trump’s travel security.