As dusk fell across the runway in Ankara, President Donald Trump was quietly moved off Air Force One and into an unmarked catering vehicle as part of a secret aircraft switch intended to evade a suspected Iranian assassination plot.
The operation unfolded at precisely 8.28pm on July 8, shortly after the NATO summit in the Turkish capital. Moments after cameras captured Trump boarding the presidential jet, he was taken back off the aircraft and placed inside the cramped metal compartment of a food-service truck positioned nearby.
The highly sensitive maneuver was kept from reporters and even from some White House aides, many of whom believed they remained aboard the same plane as the president. In reality, Trump departed Turkey on a separate military aircraft after security officials identified what was described as a credible Iranian threat to target Air Force One with a missile.
Packed inside the narrow catering truck with Trump were key members of his closest circle, including executive assistant Natalie Harp, whom one source described as the president’s “connective tissue,” and Walt Nauta, the director of Oval Office operations.
A separate account said White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino also joined the covert transfer, completing the small team that accompanied Trump during the escape.
The transfer reportedly took less than a minute. Trump and the group entered the container beside Air Force One, were lowered onto the tarmac, then rushed across the airfield to a waiting C-32A military jet, where they were lifted aboard.
To help preserve the illusion of an ordinary departure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth walked visibly up the stairs of the military aircraft, appearing to board in a routine fashion.
Back on Air Force One, journalists and the remaining members of Trump’s traveling staff were unaware of the switch, left aboard what had effectively become a decoy aircraft.
A source familiar with the matter told Our News Outlet that, in particular, 35-year-old Harp’s selection to ride safely with the president was a no-brainer. A second source said she was Trump’s ‘first pick’ to accompany him.
Inside the cramped compartment sat his most trusted inner circle: executive assistant Natalie Harp, described by a source as the president’s ‘connective tissue,’ and director of Oval Office operations Walt Nauta
A source familiar with the matter told Our News Outlet that Harp’s selection to ride safely with the president was a no-brainer. A second source agrees, saying she was his ‘first pick’ to accompany him
Catering trucks are parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying President Donald Trump arrives on the tarmac to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara on July 8
‘There is no one closer to the president on his team,’ that source explained of Trump’s relationship with Harp, who has been dubbed his ‘human printer’ for her habit of sharing printed copies of articles and social media posts that the president wants to read.
A separate source familiar with the ride referred to Harp, Nauta and Scavino as Trump’s ‘three musketeers.’
‘They are close to the president, vital to his mission, but respectfully, not too important to be left on a plane of people who need to succeed the president and his administration if something horrible did in fact happen,’ the source said.
Left behind on Air Force One were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, top advisor Stephen Miller, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung and Ambassador Monica Crowley, who took off on a three-hour and 45-minute flight to RAF Mildenhall in the UK.
Insiders say the most senior cabinet officials, like Rubio and Bessent, were aware of Trump’s secret alternate route, but that lower-level staff had no idea they were serving as decoys.
‘Some cabinet members were willing to risk their lives for the president,’ an insider close to Rubio disclosed. ‘Can that be said of everyone on board?’
That source confirms higher-level cabinet officials including Rubio were well aware that Trump wasn’t on board Air Force One, though even they ‘weren’t sure’ about who else was accompanying him.
The president 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
Journalists who boarded the old Air Force One plane believed the president was on board
The reported subterfuge came as Trump was leaving the NATO summit in Turkey last month
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Trump secretly switched planes while much of his travelling party remained aboard Air Force One — what do you make of the extraordinary security operation?
Others on the decoy flight included deputy national security advisor Mike Needham, White House staff secretary Will Scharf, director of speechwriting Ross Worthington, Trump’s personal assistant Chris Ambrosini and deputy chief of staff Richard Walters.
Our source close to Rubio says he even helped plan the entire operation, but that the plan came about ‘rather quickly’ once they were aware of specific threats.
On the final day of last month’s NATO summit in Turkey, a credible risk against Air Force One involving a shoulder-fired missile came to light. That prompted the alternative flight plans for the president and some on his team.
‘Those are people who the president talks to every day. He knows where they are. There were a limited number of people who knew about this plan, so that is why this leak is so extraordinary,’ a source said.
White House officials hid the secret transfer from traveling reporters for over a month. But after The Washington Post this week published a story about the catering truck escape, Trump confirmed he had secretly swapped planes.
‘I just follow what they’d like to do… I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane… I do what they say,’ Trump told reporters on Tuesday, adding: ‘I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk. I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they [Iran] would be more likely to go for.’
Sources told the New York Times that Trump covertly entered the food cart that had been fitted to the belly of the plane amid threats from Iranian officials
At exactly 8.28pm, following the NATO summit in Turkey, the president and select members of his team like Nauta (pictured) were whisked off the legacy Air Force One jumbo jet and shoved into the metal container of a waiting catering lift truck
Another report indicated that White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino (pictured) rounded out the three-person team with Trump in the harrowing plot
A source familiar with Trump’s overseas travels explained the operation, saying this is not the first time ‘Ghost Flight’ tactics have been used, but declining to elaborate on specific instances.
‘During the campaign [for president in 2024], multiple planes were used as an aversion so it wasn’t always just Trump Force One… Particularly when there was a threat. We use multiple planes and put different staff on different planes all the time,’ the source explained.
The threat level against the president has reached fever pitch: in Tehran, a massive custom banner depicting Trump inside a blood-red bullseye and reading ‘There will be blood’ was recently hung in Tajrish Square.
Iranian media has even escalated threats against the First Family, releasing chilling AI-generated videos targeting First Lady Melania and her son Barron.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
