Trump confirms he secretly switched planes after Nato summit over possible threat
US President Donald Trump has confirmed he secretly swapped Air Force One for a military jet after last month's Nato summit in Turkey due to a possible threat, with officials citing a credible Iranian plot to fire a missile at the aircraft.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed to reporters that he secretly changed planes after leaving last month's Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, following advice from the Secret Service and military officials. He said he simply had to follow their instructions.
The confirmation follows earlier reports that on 8 July Trump was seen boarding Air Force One on camera at Ankara airport, before being quietly transferred to a different aircraft with the help of a catering truck raised to plane level.
The switch raised questions over whether people left aboard the original plane were placed at greater risk, but Trump insisted on Tuesday that the military jet he actually boarded was the one facing the greater danger.
Credible Iranian threat
Officials told CBS News, BBC's US partner, that a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the aircraft had been detected. Journalists and some White House staff who remained on Air Force One reportedly did not know the president was no longer aboard.
Trump had previously said he was Iran's "number one target" during the Ankara summit. The covert plane switch took place a day after the United States resumed military strikes on Iran, following the collapse of negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the war.
Trump had flown into Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar but said he would return home on the older Air Force One "for old time's sake." According to the Washington Post, footage on 8 July showed him boarding that plane, but he later slipped out via a catering truck positioned on the opposite side from where he had entered, and was secretly moved to a smaller C-32A, a modified Boeing 757 typically used to transport the vice-president.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly boarded the C-32A separately, using external stairs, to help the departure look routine. Journalists and staff left aboard Air Force One were told to close their window shades and were unaware the president had already left the aircraft.
