President Donald Trump was secretly removed from Air Force One in Ankara, Turkey, on 8 July 2026, hidden inside a catering truck and transferred to a separate military jet, while reporters and White House staff remained aboard the presidential plane believing he was still on it. The operation, first reported by The Washington Post on 11 August, was prompted by what the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessed as a credible Iranian assassination threat targeting whichever aircraft carried the president.
Trump had told journalists before departure that he would fly home on the older Air Force One "for old time's sake," rather than the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8 he had arrived on. He said the newer jet would be made available for US personnel at Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall in Britain to tour. That public announcement effectively established which aircraft a threat actor might target.
Instead, Trump boarded the older Air Force One in view of cameras, then was covertly moved via a catering truck on the far side of the aircraft — shielded from television crews — onto a C-32A military jet, which flew him to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. The C-32A is a military variant of the Boeing 757 primarily assigned to the vice president and carries fewer security capabilities than the main presidential aircraft.
The older Air Force One then took off from Ankara carrying the White House press pool and some staff. Passengers were ordered to keep window blinds shut for the duration of the flight. The aircraft flew with its transponder switched off. None of those on board were told that Trump had left, nor that a credible threat had been assessed against the plane they were on.
The CIA-assessed threat was understood to apply to any aircraft carrying Trump, not only the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8 he arrived on — a detail that makes the use of an uninformed press pool as a diversionary measure more pointed. A former Secret Service special agent said the journalists and staff left on the decoy aircraft were "100%" in danger, while adding that diversionary tactics are a standard part of the agency's protective doctrine.
At Mildenhall, Trump was quietly moved back onto the older Air Force One before appearing in view of reporters, then walked across the tarmac to board the Qatari-donated 747-8 for the return flight to Washington. How he was transferred from the C-32A back onto the older aircraft without being observed is not known.
The revelation has drawn sharp criticism from the journalists involved. Reporters have expressed outrage at being placed in danger without their knowledge or consent. While decoy tactics — including duplicate motorcades and alternate aircraft — are a documented part of presidential security, their use has historically been concentrated in active conflict zones; it is highly unusual for the White House press pool to be left unaware that it is not travelling on the same aircraft as the president.
Trump's own account has been inconsistent. When asked by reporters whether there had been security concerns about the plane swap, he initially said "no, no." He subsequently told journalists: "Well, yeah, because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with."
The White House has said only that it uses every tool available to protect the president; the Secret Service has not commented on the specifics of the operation. The precise nature and sourcing of the Iranian threat, who authorised the aircraft switch and when, and whether any formal review of press pool notification procedures is now underway all remain unknown.
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