Donald Trump Secretly Switched Planes in Turkey Using Catering Truck Amid Iranian Assassination Threat

President Donald Trump was secretly moved off Air Force One in Turkey using an airport catering truck and then flown on an Air Force C-32A amid an Iranian assassination threat, according to a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter.

“Shortly before Air Force One took off from Turkey at the end of last month's NATO summit”

CBS News

CBS News said U.S. intelligence had detected a credible plot to fire a missile at the plane Mr. Trump was on as he left the Turkish capital of Ankara, and it described the ruse as taking place shortly before Air Force One took off at the end of last month’s NATO summit.

ABC

The Washington Post was first to report the details, and NBC News said the operation included using a catering truck to get the president on the C-32 that flew from Ankara to the Mildenhall air force base in the United Kingdom.

White House communications director Steven Cheung did not dispute the Post’s story when reached for comment, saying, "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."

CBS News added that Trump had announced he would leave Ankara in the old Air Force One "for old time’s sake" rather than the newer Qatari-donated jet he had taken to the NATO summit.

CBS News reported that members of the press and the president’s staff traveled the same route on Air Force One while believing they were on board the same aircraft as the president, and it said they were told to keep the window shades in Air Force One's press cabin closed.

When asked why the shades needed to be closed, CBS News said Trump later told reporters they were "probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags that we have to deal with."

BBC

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., demanded a briefing, saying, "The Senate should be immediately briefed on the Iranian threats against the President, the extraordinary measures taken to get him out of Turkey."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the undisclosed travels "downright scary" and told CNN he wanted to know what precautions were taken for "all of the passengers on that Air Force One" that was judged too dangerous for Trump to fly on.

France 24 reported that some traveling media expressed anger at having unwittingly served as decoys and complained about deception and lack of communication from the White House.

The White House defended the security of the newer Qatari-donated aircraft, with Steven Cheung telling multiple outlets that "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."

“"safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission"”

CBS News

CBS News said the Air Force called the new presidential plane "safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission," while noting the administration has never publicly disclosed that the press and some staff were flying on a decoy plane.

Fox News described the maneuver as using an older Air Force One jet as a decoy while Trump secretly boarded a third, smaller U.S. military aircraft using an airport catering truck, and it said Trump told reporters, "You're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with."

In the United Kingdom, CBS News reported that Trump switched to the newer Air Force One, and it said he spoke to members of the press while they flew across the Atlantic toward Washington, D.C.

France 24 said the secret operation raised questions over US security practices and described the reported moment when Trump stepped inside a cargo container to board a smaller US Air Force aircraft positioned nearby.