President Donald Trump revealed Tuesday night that he secretly changed planes during his return from Turkey in July. He explained that a security threat led to the covert action. Trump stated that the decision came from the ‘Secret Service and the military.’ ‘They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane,’ Trump mentioned. ‘I guess there was a threat out there.’
NBC News corroborated The Washington Post’s report that Trump discreetly transferred to an unmarked aircraft using a catering truck on July 8, after initially boarding Air Force One publicly. He then traveled on the jet from Ankara to a UK base while others thought he was still on Air Force One.
‘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 would be more likely to go for,’ Trump commented on Tuesday.
He did not offer details on why the C-32 jet he took, which lacked the Air Force One call sign, was perceived as a bigger target.
NBC News further reported that a U.S. official indicated the plane switch was related to a new Iranian plot to assassinate Trump. This plot may have involved using a shoulder-fired missile targeting Air Force One as it departed Turkey. The decoy plane still carried individuals such as media representatives and senior White House staff, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who are in the presidential line of succession.
Trump remarked he ‘didn’t really ask so much’ about the threat but mentioned he was ‘not surprised’ by it. ‘Any consequential president has a lot of threats. Nonconsequential presidents don’t get threatened, and I think that I may be the most consequential president,’ he added.
Congressional Democrats are seeking a briefing from officials regarding the details of Trump’s flight in July and any security threats involved.