President Donald Trump was covertly transported out of Turkey following a recent NATO summit through an elaborate security operation involving decoy aircraft and a catering truck, according to reports from The Washington Post and The New York Times. The maneuver was reportedly designed to mitigate risks posed by an active Iranian assassination threat.
During his early July visit to Turkey, the president arrived on the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One. As tensions with Iran intensified, Trump publicly announced that he would depart for the United Kingdom aboard the older, powder blue Boeing 747-200. However, new accounts reveal that the president was never actually on that aircraft when it took off from Ankara.
Instead, the president was moved off the primary jet and into a smaller Air Force C-32A, which had been part of the presidential entourage. To facilitate this transition, security personnel utilized a catering truck typically reserved for tarmac logistics to conceal his movement. This operation allowed the president to bypass the main boarding area, while White House staff and members of the press remained aboard the larger jet, unaware of the switch.
A White House pool reporter, writing from the powder blue aircraft at the time, noted, “We are wheels up from Ankara as of 8:43 p.m. We have been advised to keep our window shades in the press cabin closed. See you on the other side.” The Washington Post confirmed the details of the ruse by reviewing materials and speaking with an unnamed U.S. official and another individual familiar with the president’s travel.
The security measures were implemented against a backdrop of escalating conflict. On July 8, during the NATO summit, Trump declared the U.S. ceasefire with Iran to be “over,” warning of impending strikes as the U.S. continued a bombing campaign against the Islamic republic.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung addressed the reports when asked about the president’s travel methods. “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—including distraction and misdirection—to address those threats,” Cheung stated.
Following the secret flight to England, the president reportedly arrived at the Royal Air Force Mildenhall base in Suffolk. It is believed that at this location, the president and his crew transitioned back to the new red, white, and blue Boeing 747-B. This aircraft then completed the transatlantic journey, landing at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington early on July 9.
Reports also noted that the C-32A used for the president’s transit to England had previously been utilized to transport Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. Unlike the president, the cabinet official boarded that aircraft via a standard stairway in plain view, according to the Post. has reached out to the White House for further comment regarding the operation.
Trump claimed to take the old Boeing 747-200 Air Force One for the first leg of his return journey to the U.S.
The New York Times also reported the story later on Monday evening.
His comments came amid a renewed U.S.
In leaving the Middle East, Trump took new precautions to make it back to the U.S.
though the full extent of those precautions was not previously known.
Contributing by White House correspondent Joey Garrison.
