New Delhi: US President Donald Trump was secretly moved from the legacy Air Force One to a smaller secret military aircraft for his departure from Turkey last month after an allegedly credible Iranian assassination threat, according to an exclusive report by The Washington Post. Unaware of the move, journalists and some White House staff were allowed to believe that he was aboard the presidential jet, the report said.
The said operation took place on 8 July, when Trump was in Ankara for a NATO summit. According to The Washington Post, Trump first boarded the blue-and-white Air Force One in front of television cameras. Minutes later, he was secretly transferred to an Air Force C-32A using an airport catering truck typically used to load supplies onto aircraft.
The legacy Air Force One was then used as a decoy, with members of the White House press corps and some staff still aboard, the newspaper reported.
The covert move came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. The report said that a credible threat to Trump involving Iran set the “deception operation” in motion. US forces had also resumed military strikes on Iran the night before Trump departed from Turkey.
The operation, and the Iranian threat, came days after the US president began using the newer Boeing 747-8 gifted by Qatar for use as Air Force One. Trump flew to Turkey on the legacy blue-and-white Boeing 747 that served as Air Force One aircraft after the red, white and blue jet underwent upgrades costing hundreds of millions of dollars. It was fielded by the Air Force in July but lacks some of the defensive countermeasures included in the legacy Air Force One, The Washington Post report said.
The newer Qatar-donated jet left Turkey first. Trump then boarded the legacy Air Force One before being moved to the C-32A.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs, part of an attempt to make the flight appear typical, according to the US official quoted and other materials cited in the report. Hegseth flew with Trump to Britain on the same plane, the official person told The Washington Post.
Journalists aboard the legacy Air Force One were instructed to keep their window shades closed during the flight. The C-32A flew to Britain under the call sign “Reach 18”, rather than an Air Force One designation, the report read.
Trump later appeared before cameras in Britain after descending from the legacy Air Force One, leaving journalists to believe he had travelled in that aircraft.
The report noted that using Air Force One as a decoy is not unprecedented. Former President Bill Clinton used a similar deception during a 2000 visit to Pakistan amid security concerns.
Responding to the report, White House communications director Steven Cheung issued a statement defending the jet gifted by Qatar.
“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,” Cheung’s statement said. “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.”
Trump later acknowledged the security threat while speaking to reporters, but did not disclose the secret aircraft switch. Trump said that he has a “threat all the time” against his life, and that he is “number one” on Iran’s “list”, as quoted by The Washington Post.
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