How US staged Air Force One departure to hide Trump’s secret exit from Turkey

In July, US President Donald Trump secretly departed Turkey on a smaller aircraft than previously believed, following an alleged assassination threat from Iran, according to The Washington Post. The President boarded Air Force One at Ankara on July 8, but was subsequently moved into a catering container attached to the plane. This container then transported Trump to a smaller C-32A aircraft that transported him to Britain, while media and some officials were misled to believe he was still on the larger jet.

The threat from Iran was initially reported by US media as the reason Trump did not fly out of Turkey on the new Boeing 747-8, gifted to the United States by Qatar. Trump had initially claimed he would use the older Boeing 747 so that US military personnel could tour the new plane. However, several US news outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Iranian proxy forces had prompted the switch.

Journalists on the original plane out of Ankara were instructed to keep their window blinds down, a precaution typically used in war zones, adding to suspicions of security concerns. The swap between planes raised questions about the Qatar-gifted jet, which lacked the same security features as the older aircraft, including anti-missile defenses.

Qatar had donated the luxury airliner last year after Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the two aging Boeing 747s that had served as Air Force One since 1990. The plane underwent rapid retrofitting and made its debut on July 1 in North Dakota before embarking on its first overseas journey to Turkey. When asked about the Post's report, the White House released a statement defending the new plane's safety, stating that it was a state-of-the-art aircraft with high-level security protocols.

The White House has previously used this statement to address concerns about the aircraft's safety. A video in the Post's report depicted a catering truck lowering from the older Air Force One jet, shortly after Trump proceeded up the stairs into the plane. The catering vehicle can be seen making its way to the smaller C-32A aircraft in the distance.

Following both landings in the United Kingdom, Trump was filmed descending the steps from the larger jet before transferring to the newly retrofitted Air Force One. It remains unclear how he made the return journey to the larger aircraft, according to the Post.