Prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey last month when the White House said he was flying aboard Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse that involved hiding the president in an airport catering cart, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times.
The operation took place when Trump was in Ankara for a Nato summit with world leaders, according to the Post. The president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, a US official told the Post.
An official also confirmed the operation to the New York Times.
The Guardian has reached out to the White House and the US Department of Defense for comment.
Trump’s actual location was concealed from journalists and some White House staff members. A US official told the Post that a credible threat to Trump involving Iran set the “deception operation” in motion.
The administration had previously claimed that Trump left Turkey on 8 July on the former Air Force One. The president had also announced on Truth Social that he would use the “former Air Force One” rather than the plane that flew him there, a new Boeing 747-8 gifted by Qatar.
The trip to Nato was the first international travel for the new plane, whose speedy upgrades triggered questions over its cost and security, and took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, which borders Turkey.
Before departing Ankara, Trump said on Truth Social that he would use an older, baby blue Air Force One plane “for old time’s sake” to RAF Mildenhall in Britain while the new plane stopped at the same base so US service members stationed there could tour the aircraft.
After Trump boarded the old Air Force One in front of cameras in Ankara, he was secretly shuttled to a smaller plane, an Air Force C-32A, the Post reported citing a US official familiar with the operation and corroborating material it reviewed.
The deception operation was triggered by a credible threat to Trump, the Post reported. A similar operation had taken place in 2000, when Bill Clinton used an unmarked executive jet to fly into Pakistan while sending his formal Air Force One as decoy.
On this occasion, the journalists who thought they were traveling with Trump on the older Air Force One reported being advised to keep their window shades in the press cabin closed. The Post said aside from reporters, some White House staff also believed the president was on board.
When asked later by reporters why they had to keep their shades shut during the flight, Trump said it was because they were “probably on a dangerous flight”. He went onto say: “But if I go, you go. Right?”
The C-32A carrying Trump flew to Britain, arriving at around 10.20pm local time with the older Air Force One and media arriving minutes later, the Post reported. It was not clear, the paper said, how Trump was moved from the C-32A back to the older Air Force One, from which he was seen disembarking.
Trump’s traveling press pool reported he climbed down the stairs of the older Air Force One at 10.56pm local time. He gave press a peace sign but didn’t walk over to talk to them. He then spent some time greeting service members before walking to the new, Qatar-donated plane.
When asked for comment on the revelation of a secret flight on a third plane, the White House provided a statement from Steve Cheung, the communications director, saying the Qatari-donated jet has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff.
“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,” Cheung said. It was the same statement provided to the Post.
Maanvi Singh and Reuters contributed reporting