Donald Trump’s plane swap after a NATO summit in Turkey has drawn fresh attention to the security fears surrounding the president, with US media reporting that he was quietly moved off Air Force One because of a possible Iranian threat. According to the reports, Trump boarded the presidential jet in public view, then was taken to a military aircraft without many aboard realizing he had left the plane.
The Washington Post reported that Trump was moved by way of an elevated airport catering truck and transferred to a C-32A military aircraft while journalists and some White House staff remained on the old Air Force One. Officials told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that US intelligence had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane. The White House has not confirmed the account. Trump had already said during the summit in Ankara that he was Iran’s “number one target.”
The reported move came one day after the US renewed military strikes on Iran following the collapse of talks between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the war. Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, but told people he would leave on the older Air Force One “for old time’s sake.” On 8 July, footage showed him boarding the presidential jet at Ankara airport before, the Post said, he was escorted away on the opposite side of the aircraft and onto the smaller military plane.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly boarded the C-32A separately by external stairs as part of an effort to make the departure look routine. Meanwhile, journalists and some White House staff were said to have remained on Air Force One and told to close their window shades, apparently unaware that the president was no longer on board. Trump later flew to the United Kingdom en route back to the United States, then reboarded the old Air Force One and was seen leaving it after landing at RAF Mildenhall. The path between the military jet and the legacy presidential aircraft was not explained in the reports.
Trump then transferred to the newer Qatari-donated Air Force One for the final leg back to Washington. During that flight, he spoke with reporters and discussed the danger posed by Iran, but he did not address the reported plane swap. When asked why reporters had been told to lower the shades after leaving Turkey, Trump said the flight was “probably” dangerous because of “the sleazebags we have to deal with.” He also said he faces a constant threat and repeated that he is at the top of Iran’s list.
