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Trump
Taken
Off Air
Force 1
via Food
Truck in
Covert
Plane
Swap
After
NATO
Threat
Jordan
Jenkins,
Senior
Investigative
Reporter
Tell Us
USA News
Network
WASHINGTON
- U.S.
President
Donald
Trump
was
secretly
transferred
off Air
Force
One
using an
airport
catering
truck
and
flown
out of
Turkey
on a
secondary
military
aircraft
following
the NATO
summit
in
Ankara,
according
to
reports
published
by The
Washington
Post and
The New
York
Times.
The
extraordinary
deception
operation
was
triggered
by
credible
intelligence
warnings
of a
potential
Iranian
assassination
threat
or
missile
strike
targeting
the
presidential
aircraft.
The
covert
operation
unfolded
at the
Ankara
airport
following
the
conclusion
of the
annual
NATO
summit.
Trump
publicly
boarded
the
legacy,
baby-blue
Boeing
747 Air
Force
One in
full
view of
television
cameras.
He had
announced
on
social
media
earlier
that he
was
using
the
older
jet for
old
time's
sake
while a
newly
retrofitted
Qatari-gifted
Boeing
747 flew
ahead to
the UK.
Minutes
after
boarding,
Trump
and a
select
group of
top
aides
stepped
onto a
hydraulic
catering
vehicle.
The
elevated
truck,
typically
used to
load
inflight
meals,
was
positioned
at a
service
door on
the far
side of
Air
Force
One,
away
from
press
cameras.
The
catering
truck
transported
Trump
across
the
tarmac
to a
waiting
Boeing
C-32A, a
military
variant
of the
Boeing
757
commonly
used by
the Vice
President.
Defense
Secretary
Pete
Hegseth
boarded
the
C-32A
separately
to
maintain
appearances.
Traveling
press
corps
and
non-essential
White
House
staff
remaining
on Air
Force
One were
instructed
to lower
their
window
shades
prior to
takeoff.
They
flew to
RAF
Mildenhall
in the
United
Kingdom
fully
believing
the
President
was on
board
with
them.
Upon
landing
in the
UK,
Trump
was
quietly
re-boarded
onto Air
Force
One
before
disembarking
in view
of press
photographers,
before
ultimately
completing
his
journey
back to
Washington
on the
new
Qatari-donated
jet.
The
unusual
security
measure
highlights
heightened
tensions
and
security
concerns
during
ongoing
military
friction
between
Washington
and
Tehran.
During
the
summit
in
Ankara,
the U.S.
military
had
conducted
renewed
strikes
inside
Iran
following
attacks
on
commercial
shipping
in the
region.
Asked
later by
reporters
aboard
his
flight
to
Washington
whether
there
were
credible
threats
against
his
aircraft,
Trump
acknowledged
the
danger,
stating
that he
has a
threat
all the
time and
is
number
one on
their
list,
adding
that if
he goes,
they go.
Former
Secret
Service
Special
Agent
Paul
Eckloff
noted
that
while
hiding a
commander-in-chief
inside
service
vehicles
is rare,
extreme
measures
are
warranted
given
the
volatile
regional
situation.
White
House
Communications
Director
Steven
Cheung
did not
confirm
details
of the
operation
directly,
but
emphasized
that
security
teams
utilize
all
available
tools to
safeguard
the
chief
executive
against
persistent
threats.
The
revelations
have
sparked
intense
debate
in
Washington.
Democratic
Senator
Richard
Blumenthal
called
for a
formal
congressional
inquiry
into the
incident,
labeling
the
tactical
ruse
unprecedented,
surreal,
and
downright
scary.
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