Trump used secret aircraft after decoy flight from NATO summit
President Trump switched to a covert plane from a publicly identified Air Force One on a trip from Turkey, while senior officials traveled on the decoy aircraft.
President Donald Trump boarded a covert aircraft after departing Ankara, using a plane that was not publicly identified as Air Force One, according to sources familiar with the operation. The decoy flight, which carried Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, was presented to the media as the presidential aircraft.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with White House aides Natalie Harp, Walt Nauta, Dan Scavino and several other staff members, were on the secret flight. Rubio and Bessent were aware that the president was traveling on a different plane.
On July 8, Trump announced he would leave Ankara on the older Air Force One rather than the newer Qatar-donated jet used at the NATO summit, saying the change was “for old time’s sake.” The Secret Service and military officials advised the switch for security reasons, Trump told CBS News. He said the decision responded to a threat and that the alternate aircraft was safer.
Video captured by reporters showed Trump boarding the older plane with a catering truck nearby, after which the truck moved to a separate government aircraft, identified by The Washington Post as an Air Force C-32A. The president then flew to a refueling stop in the United Kingdom on the secret plane, while members of the press and other staff traveled the same route on the decoy Air Force One, believing they were on board the same aircraft.
In the United Kingdom, Trump transferred to the newer Air Force One, a Qatar-donated jet undergoing security upgrades, and addressed the press during the transatlantic flight to Washington, D.C.