Trump revealed that he secretly changed planes in Turkey last month under instructions from the Secret Service. He stressed that the aircraft he finally boarded still carried higher danger than Air Force One.
After the Nato summit in Ankara, Trump left Air Force One and transferred to a military plane using a catering truck. Reports said the unusual step followed an Iranian assassination threat. The White House kept the switch hidden until the Washington Post broke the story. Some commentators later wondered whether staff and journalists left on the original plane faced unnecessary risk.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump told reporters. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”
After online jokes portrayed him hiding in the catering truck, the president explained he simply followed security advice. “Well, it’s only up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military,” he said. “I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”
Officials had announced that Trump would fly Air Force One from Turkey to Britain. Yet moments after boarding, he exited secretly through the catering truck and joined a different aircraft. Trump had arrived in Ankara on a newly renovated jet donated by Qatar, then switched to an older Air Force One for departure. That decision raised questions about the newer plane’s readiness.
The Nato trip marked the first overseas journey for the upgraded aircraft. The fast renovations had already drawn scrutiny over cost and security. The journey also coincided with rising tensions involving Iran, which shares a border with Turkey.
Trump made clear he trusts the professionals who protect him. The secret plane change, he suggested, placed him on the more exposed aircraft while the decoy Air Force One continued its route with others on board. The episode highlights the constant security calculations surrounding every presidential move abroad.
