5 minPolitics
Trump Was Moved to a Secret Military Jet After NATO Summit
U.S. officials say an Iranian threat prompted a covert transfer from Air Force One to a C-32A in Ankara while the press pool remained on a decoy aircraft.
President Donald Trump was secretly transferred from Air Force One to a smaller U.S. military aircraft after the NATO summit in Ankara last month because of intelligence about an Iranian threat, according to multiple news organizations citing U.S. officials.
The operation took place July 8, after Trump had publicly boarded an older presidential Boeing 747 at Ankara’s airport. The Washington Post reported that, minutes later, he was moved off the aircraft in an airport catering truck and driven to an Air Force C-32A. The older Air Force One departed with journalists and some White House staff aboard, many of whom did not know that the president was traveling separately. The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal have since published corroborating accounts.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had briefed the Trump administration on intelligence that included a possible threat to use shoulder-fired missiles against the president’s aircraft. Officials have not publicly released the underlying intelligence, and the available reporting does not establish how imminent or operationally advanced the alleged threat was. No attack was carried out against the aircraft.
The NATO summit was held in Ankara on July 7 and 8. The meeting occurred against the backdrop of renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, and Trump had repeatedly referred to Iranian threats against him. After leaving Turkey, he was asked whether a credible threat from Iran had influenced the aircraft changes. He denied that security concerns were the reason, while also saying that he faced threats continually and was at the top of Iran’s assassination list.
The public travel record at the time suggested a two-aircraft arrangement. Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar and recently placed into temporary presidential service. He appeared to leave Ankara aboard one of the older Air Force One aircraft, with plans to switch back to the newer plane at RAF Mildenhall in Britain. Reporters on the older aircraft were instructed to close their window shades during the departure.
The later reporting indicates that a third aircraft carried Trump for the first leg. The Air Force describes the C-32 as a specially configured Boeing 757-200 used to transport senior American leaders. It is a military VIP aircraft rather than a cargo plane and is routinely used for high-level government travel. Its smaller size and less distinctive appearance made it suitable for an operation intended to conceal the president’s location.
A White House photo gallery from July 8 includes an official photograph of Trump boarding the older Air Force One in Ankara. That image is now part of the timeline: it documents the visible movement that preceded the covert transfer. According to the reporting, a catering truck then approached the aircraft. Such vehicles can raise an enclosed compartment to an aircraft door, allowing a passenger to move without using an exposed staircase.
The episode also intersects with questions about the Qatari-provided 747. The aircraft is valued at about $400 million and was rapidly modified for presidential use. News reports later raised questions about whether it had all of the defensive capabilities present on older presidential aircraft. Trump initially dismissed concerns that security had affected his travel but later said the new plane would undergo additional upgrades and that he would not use it until that work was completed.
The Secret Service generally does not disclose operational details that could help future attackers, so a full public explanation may remain limited. The immediate facts, however, are clearer than they were in July: the president did not fly from Ankara on the aircraft the press believed he was aboard. The unresolved issue is how U.S. officials assessed the Iranian intelligence and whether Congress will receive enough information to evaluate the unusual decision to use a staffed presidential aircraft as a decoy.
