US President Donald Trump reportedly left Turkey through a covert aircraft switch after a credible Iranian threat.
US President Donald Trump secretly left Turkey after the NATO summit in Ankara in July, using a smaller US military aircraft instead of the Air Force One that journalists believed he was travelling on. According to reports, Trump was moved from the presidential aircraft using an airport catering truck before boarding a C-32A military jet bound for the UK. The operation was reportedly designed to conceal his actual location amid concerns over a credible Iranian threat against the president. The White House had publicly documented Trump's arrival in Ankara aboard Air Force One and his subsequent presence at the NATO summit.
The Editorial Team of Behind The Headlines reports that the operation involved an elaborate deception. Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 that had been donated by Qatar, but the aircraft was sent ahead to the UK. Trump then publicly appeared to board the older Air Force One, creating the impression that he would fly out on that aircraft. Instead, he was reportedly transferred discreetly to a C-32A, a smaller military aircraft, while journalists and some White
The unusual operation came against the backdrop of heightened US-Iran tensions and security concerns surrounding Trump. The White House confirmed that Trump was in Ankara on July 7-8 for the NATO summit and that he later travelled to the UK, where he was publicly seen aboard Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall. The reported aircraft swap therefore appears to have been a security and deception measure, rather than a change in Trump's official itinerary. The episode highlights the extraordinary precautions involved in protecting a US president when intelligence agencies believe his movements could be targeted. It also raises questions about how far presidential security teams can go in misleading even members of the travelling press corps when protecting the president becomes the priority.