US news outlets report that President Trump departed from a NATO summit in Ankara on a concealed military flight rather than the aircraft shown to media, prompted by a credible Iranian assassination threat.
President Trump's departure from a NATO summit in Turkey last month involved an elaborate deception operation, according to reporting from the Washington Post and New York Times. While the White House publicly stated the president left Ankara on July 8 aboard a refurbished Boeing 747, Trump actually boarded a smaller unmarked aircraft minutes after the decoy plane departed, reportedly hidden in an airport catering container typically used for loading meal supplies.
The operation was prompted by what US officials described as a credible threat involving Iran, which borders Turkey. Trump had announced on his Truth Social platform that he would use an older Air Force One aircraft "for old time's sake" to travel to RAF Mildenhall in Britain, while a newly acquired Qatar-donated Boeing 747-8 would follow separately. The actual sequence involved three aircraft: the new plane, the older plane visible to media and some White House staff, and the unmarked jet carrying the president.
Journalists traveling with Trump reported being instructed to keep window shades closed in the press cabin during the flight. When questioned about this restriction, Trump told reporters they were "probably on a dangerous flight" but added "if I go, you go." The C-32A carrying the president arrived in Britain at approximately 10:20 PM local time, after which Trump was transported to the older Air Force One, where he descended the stairs at 10:56 PM to greet service members before boarding the new Qatari aircraft.
The White House communications director Steve Cheung defended the security measures, stating that the new jet has been "fitted with high-level security protocols" and that the administration uses "every tool at our disposal" to address threats against the president. A similar operation occurred in 2000 when President Bill Clinton used an unmarked executive jet to enter Pakistan while deploying Air Force One as a decoy.
