President Donald Trump revealed that he was discreetly moved from Air Force One to a C-32A plane while departing the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, back in July. This maneuver was a covert operation orchestrated by the U.S. Secret Service and military personnel.
This action was prompted by intelligence intercepting a potential threat from Iran, which indicated that there might be surface-to-air or shoulder-fired missiles aimed at the presidential aircraft as it departed Turkey.
Reports indicate that Trump appeared to board Air Force One openly, walking up the stairs in front of cameras and reporters on the tarmac in Ankara. Inside the aircraft were a number of high-ranking officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. They were kept in the dark about the aircraft switch and instructed to lower the window shades.
Meanwhile, Trump and a small circle of aides were quietly transferred off the plane using an elevated catering truck—typically meant for loading supplies—on the opposite side from the cameras, according to reports.
This catering vehicle then transported Trump across the tarmac to a less conspicuous U.S. Air Force C-32A. The two aircraft took off separately and made a refueling stop in Britain, where Trump allegedly returned to Air Force One.
When questioned about the threat that initiated the flight switch, Trump downplayed it, describing the action as a standard security measure for any president.
“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,” he said, responding to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “Any consequential president has a lot of threats.”
He noted that he leaves such decisions to the Secret Service. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it, I do what they say,” he added.
Prior to his departure from the summit on July 8, Trump took to social media to state that he would fly out of Turkey on the older version of Air Force One for nostalgic reasons, opting to bypass the newer jet that had just been gifted by Qatar.
When pressed by reporters about why he wasn’t using the new aircraft to return home, Trump explained that it would be flown to a U.S. military base for inspections by service members.
In terms of safety for those on the actual Air Force One, Trump suggested that he believed the C-32A was at a greater risk.
“I think, actually, the plane that I flew on was at greater risk… because that would be the plane, I think, that they would be more likely to go for.”
