President Trump on Tuesday evening confirmed he secretly switched planes last month as he departed Ankara, Turkey.
Trump stopped to talk to reporters after he returned to DC from attending the Patriot Games final in Ohio.
A reporter asked President Trump about a leak to the Washington Post that revealed he secretly switched planes as he departed Turkey for the UK and used Air Force One as a ‘decoy.’
“It’s only up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do. So, I go by the Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane,” Trump told reporters.
“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it,” Trump said.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk. I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for,” Trump said.
WATCH:
President Trump took a secret flight from Turkey to the UK on an alternate military aircraft on July 8 after he was quietly moved from Air Force One due to an Iranian threat.
According to a leak to The Washington Post, Air Force One was used as a ‘decoy’ while President Trump flew on a smaller C-2A plane. Pool reporters thought they were flying with President Trump from Turkey to the UK.
EXCLUSIVE: An Iranian assassination threat against President Trump prompted an extraordinary operation last month in which he flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft while the White House said he was aboard Air Force One, The Washington Post has learned.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 10, 2026
However, President Trump was quietly moved from Air Force One to the smaller plane by jumping into an airport catering truck.
How did this happen? We’re told Trump boarded the legacy Air Force One in Turkey.
But moments later, he secretly moved from that jet to a smaller C-32A that was parked nearby. He moved from one jet to the next aboard an airport catering truck, out of sight from the media.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 10, 2026
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