As Donald Trump was preparing to depart the NATO summit in Turkey last month, security officials briefed him on fresh intelligence raising concerns about his personal safety.
According to NBC News, overnight reporting from U.S. operatives indicated that a person nearby had been seen with a shoulder-fired missile capable of threatening the President’s aircraft.
Officials also warned that Iran was aware of which floor Trump was staying on at his hotel during the summit in Ankara.
After assessing the information, the Secret Service and the President’s military advisers determined that the best way to reduce the risk was to obscure Trump’s actual movements.
Trump then posted on social media that he would be taking the older Air Force One “for old times’ sake” on the trip from Turkey to the Mildenhall military base in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the new Air Force One, donated to the United States by Qatar, was flown ahead to the base without Trump on board as staff readied the older aircraft for departure.
The security feint was carried out successfully: Trump boarded the familiar blue-and-white plane, then was quietly moved minutes later in a catering truck to a separate Boeing C-32A military jet.
Trump ultimately traveled on the military aircraft with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and close aides Natalie Harp and advance aide Walt Nauta.
Deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino also joined them, according to reports.
Donald Trump boarding the old Air Force One plane set to transport him to a US military base in the UK as cameras rolled at an airport in Ankara on July 8
A catering truck was visibly parked on the opposite side of Air Force One after the President boarded the plane in Turkey last month
Secretary of State Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled on the decoy flight with aides Stephen Miller, Will Scharf, Steven Cheung, Mike Needham, Ross Worthington and Monica Crowley.
Both Rubio and Bessent were aware of the secret misdirection plan to secure the President, according to CBS, but it remained unclear what other aides knew of the details.
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The decoy Air Force One left the airport in Turkey first, followed by the secret plane carrying Trump.
Arriving at the Mildenhall military base, the Boeing C-32A landed first, according to reports citing flight monitoring message boards.
Trump was quietly transported under cover back to the decoy plane, where he exited in front of media cameras as expected.
The President and his staff then boarded the new Air Force One, donated by Qatar for the flight back to Washington, DC.
After the successful decoy, Trump denied any concerns to reporters who asked him about a potential security threat.
‘No, no,’ Trump replied. ‘No issues.’
Trump had flown to Turkey on a Qatari-donated Air Force One jet before switching back to his older model for the journey home
Trump covertly entered the food cart that had been fitted to the belly of the plane amid threats from Iranian officials
Detailed knowledge of the secret decoy flight, first reported by the Washington Post, created a firestorm in the media, which was not told about the President’s secret plan.
Trump reacted to the news on Tuesday evening, telling reporters that he was only following the advice of the Secret Service.
‘I just follow what they’d like me to do,’ he said. ‘They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, so I do it. I do what they say.’
When asked if he was worried about a missile taking out either plane, he replied, ‘I don’t worry about anything, to be honest. You know my attitude? Whatever.’
