Journalists and some White House staff were aboard the legacy Air Force One that served as a “decoy,” according to The Washington Post
President Donald Trump was secretly ferried away from Turkey last month and used a catering truck to covertly transfer him from Air Force One to a smaller plane amid an assassination threat from Iran, The Washington Post reported.
The operation reportedly took place a night after Trump directed U.S. military strikes on Iran after failed negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end their war. Trump, who was in Ankara for a NATO summit and traveled to Turkey aboard a luxurious 747-8 gifted by Qatar, announced on social media that he would use the “former Air Force One” instead for “old time’s sake.”
However, after television cameras captured Trump boarding the old Air Force One ahead of its journey to the United Kingdom, the president sneaked onto a catering truck usually designated for loading in-flight meals and was shuttled to a smaller Air Force C-32A plane, according to The Post, which cited a U.S. official and corroborating material.
Air Force One — which carried media and some White House staff members who believed they were on board the same flight as the president — served as a “decoy,” said the official. According to a media pool report, journalists and White House staff were directed them to close their window shades aboard the legacy jet.
Last month, The Times reported that the gifted Qatari jet appeared to lack the proper security measures and harbored security vulnerabilities.
“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to The Post. “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”
