Several American media outlets have reported recently that when U.S. President Trump attended the NATO summit in Ankara in July, he hid in a food cart to switch planes secretly due to concerns about an Iranian “ assassination threat”. He did not use any of the Air Force One to leave Turkey. This means that Air Force One was sent into the air essentially as a decoy, carrying officials from the White House, security and logistics personnel, as well as journalists.
According to the Associated Press, as the controversy continued to simmer, Trump responded for the first time after ending his activities in Ohio on the evening of the 11th. He argued, "It was completely up to the Secret Service. I followed their arrangements, following the instructions from the Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to transfer onto another plane, with the same level of safety, but they insisted that I do so, so I did. I did whatever they said."
Trump said that there might have been some kind of threat at the time, but he didn’t ask in detail. “I often feel threatened,” he said. He also added, “I think the plane I was on actually carried a higher risk.”
However, he insisted that this incident didn’t scare him at all. “To be honest, I don’t worry about anything,” he said, “no matter what happens. Do you know how I feel? It doesn’t matter!”
Although Trump’s response did not provide much detail about the operation, it confirmed reports by American media recently: in early July, after attending a NATO summit in Turkey, he was initially reported to have returned using the old version of the special plane that was gifted and modified by Qatar, rather than the new “Air Force One” that was used for the trip. He finally returned to Washington using the new plane at the Royal Air Force Base in Mildenhall, England.
But this week, American media outlets such as The Washington Post and The New York Times revealed more details based on information from U.S. officials. Fearing Iran’s alleged threats against Trump and his special flight, senior U.S. government officials orchestrated a scheme. In reality, Trump did not fly in the old Air Force One; instead, he was quickly transferred to a military aircraft via a catering vehicle and secretly flown to the UK. Upon arriving in the UK, he was again secretly sent back to the old Air Force One, and then boarded a new Air Force One donated by Qatar for a flight to Washington.
BBC's "Change Gear" Schematic
However, throughout the entire process, the journalists who accompanied Trump and the White House staff had no idea that Trump was not on the same flight as them from Turkey to the UK. Before takeoff, the journalists were even instructed to lower the sunshades.
It is rather ironic that during a brief conversation with reporters on the plane, Trump was directly asked whether Iran had posed any credible threats to "Air Force One". He said, "I've always been under threat. On their list, I'm number one compared to you." He also said to the accompanying reporters, dismissively, "If something happens to me, you won't be able to escape either. Right?"
As the revelations by US media continue to gain momentum, Iran has also taken the opportunity to mock. The Iranian Embassy in Congo and the Embassy in Armenia released a video generated by AI on the 11th. The video showed Trump hiding in a food truck, being transferred onto another plane. The caption read: "Washington Post: Last month, in response to Iranian threats, Trump orchestrated an operation using a food truck to conceal his flight from Turkey to the UK."
Iranian Embassy in Congo (Kinshasa)'s X Screenshot
According to American media reports, the U.S. Secret Service declined to comment on the transition incident. The U.S. Air Force, which is responsible for the administrative air fleet, referred the inquiry to the White House.
The White House has neither confirmed nor denied these reports. Communication Director Steven Cheung said only on Monday that the new aircraft, donated by Qatar, is “a state-of-the-art aircraft equipped with advanced safety protocols to ensure the safety of the President and his staff.”
"In response to the statement, it is said that just as the President has stated, the United States has many enemies looking at him. We are using all possible means to respond to these threats."
This controversy intensified after Trump personally "authenticated" it. National Public Radio (NPR) commented in a political podcast that even if Trump followed the Secret Service’s arrangements, the White House had absolute responsibility for evacuating unprepared journalists when it learned of the credible threat of a "missile-attacking aircraft." Using entire media organizations as decoys is unacceptable from the perspective of news ethics.
According to the New York Times, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal has asked Congress to hold a briefing on the matter and has formally questioned the Secret Service, asking them to provide details regarding whether civilian personnel and journalists on the 'bait aircraft' were actually subjected to any air defense safety assessments during the aircraft exchange operation known as 'Three‑Card Monte'.
