Donald Trump Says Secret Service Directed Plane Switch in Turkey After Iran Threat

U.S. President Donald Trump said he secretly switched planes in Turkey last month at the direction of the U.S. Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.

“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk”

Reuters

Following a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, U.S. media reported.

CNN

Trump told reporters on Tuesday, "I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk," as he faced questions about whether the operation left aides and journalists traveling with him at risk aboard the plane presumed to be carrying him.

He said he was following the Secret Service, telling reporters, "Well, it's only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they'd like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military," while the White House did not disclose the change and it remained a secret until the Washington Post first reported it on Monday.

NBC News reported that the Washington Post first detailed the clandestine operation, including using a catering truck to get Trump on the C-32 that flew from Ankara to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, and that a U.S. official confirmed the accuracy of those details.

White House communications director Steven Cheung said, "The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff," after the Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fox News

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate should be briefed on "the Iranian threats against the President, the extraordinary measures taken to get him out of Turkey, any risks posed to U.S. personnel, and any threat to the homeland," adding it was "unacceptable that Congress was kept in the dark" and learned about the mission through news reports.

CNN said the plan raised "very real issues and questions" because it left "many people — including reporters and administration staffers — on the legacy Air Force One as unwitting and unknowing decoys very much in the line of fire," and it quoted former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald asking what security was provided for the other planes.

The Times of India reported that Trump acknowledged he was moved to a different aircraft while leaving Turkey last month, saying he followed instructions from the Secret Service and military after being told the plane he had initially boarded would face a "greater risk".

“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight”

The Times of India

Trump said, "I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane... I do what they say... I guess there was a threat out there," and he added, "I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk!"

Fox News said the secret move put a rare security trade-off in focus, noting that White House staff, Secret Service agents, U.S. Military members and journalists remained aboard the decoy aircraft and that it was not clear what protective measures were in place.

Fox News quoted former Secret Service agent Bill Gage saying the people aboard the aircraft "probably did face an elevated risk," while Robert "Bobby" McDonald told CNN that deceptive presidential movements are unusual but part of the Secret Service playbook when credible intelligence demands extraordinary measures.