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Shoulder-fired missile threat to Air Force One forced Trump's secret flight switch in Turkey: Report
US officials had to devise a covert plan to sneak Trump out of the country in an alternate jet following the threat.
Hours after United States President Donald Trump confirmed he switched from Air Force One to a different plane after last month's NATO summit in Turkey, a report suggests that a specific threat by a shoulder-fired missile necessitated the move.
US officials scrambled to devise a covert plan to sneak Trump out of the country in an alternate jet following the threat, CNN reported citing a person familiar with the matter. The threat was reportedly so specific that US officials feared Trump's life would be at enormous risk if he flew out of Turkey in an identifiable plane – the Air Force One or the Qatar-gifted jet which he used to fly to the summit.
The person cited by CNN further said the threat seemed to be serious owing to the Iranians' knowledge of Trump's arrangements in Turkey, but refused to go into the details of the origin of the threat.
Deep Dive
Hidden in catering cart, taken to British military base: How Trump flew out of Turkey
Trump, who had spent one night in Turkey's Ankara for the summit, had been accompanied on the trip by several senior officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. Officials from the US military and secret service devised the plan to take Trump to a smaller plan by hiding him in a catering truck.
Officials at the Ankara Airport began positioning the catering truck at the side of Air Force One before Trump's motorcade arrived to the tarmac ahead of his departure, according to a CNN video analysis.
After the US President had boarded the Air Force One, the catering truck's container was lowered and it drove away from the bigger plane and went to the smaller C-32A. The Air Force One then left without the President on board at roughly 8:44 p.m. local time. The smaller plane too taxied away a minute later, CNN reported.
Rubio and Bessent remained behind on the bigger plane along with other White House staffers, military personnel and members of the press, according to US officials. However, close personal aides joined the president aboard the small aircraft that ferried him to a military base in Britain, according to a person familiar with the arrangements cited by CNN.
What Trump said about the threat
Confirming that he had switched from Air Force One to a different plane during the NATO summit, Trump earlier today said he does whatever Secret Service and the military advise him to do.
Speaking to reporters after returning from Ohio, 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. I didn't really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats."
“Non-consequential Presidents don't get threatened, and I think I'm maybe the most consequential President,” he added.
