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.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Trump announced that the Air Force One jet he flew to Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit last month would be visiting a US base in the UK. He went on to fly on a different Air Force One plane when departing from Turkey, prompting speculation of security concerns.
Trump had told reporters numerous times during the NATO summit that Iran is plotting to assassinate him and that he’s “number one” on their kill list, but he shrugged off security concerns when asked if that’s the reason why the new Air Force One plane was rerouted.
After flying out of Turkey and across the Middle East on the old jet, Trump boarded his newer luxury plane, donated to the US by Qatar, at Mildenhall Air Force Base in the UK. Trump was then pressed again about security concerns and why reporters had been directed to keep their window shades down while flying from Turkey to the UK, and he said, “I’m number one on their list before you, but if I go, you go.”
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
President Trump’s departure from Ankara, the catering truck, and the smaller C-2A plane were caught on video last month.
WATCH:
The Department of War last Friday revoked former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall’s eligibility for access to classified intel after he leaked classified information about Air Force One to the media.
The Biden-era Air Force Secretary leaked sensitive information about President Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet to The New York Times.
It was later revealed that federal agents served subpoenas to four New York Times reporters after the paper published sensitive details about alleged security shortcomings on the plane. Leakers with knowledge of the sensitive national security matters told the Times reporters that the new plane lacked some of the advanced defensive systems installed on the other presidential aircraft.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung gave a statement to the Washington Post:
“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff. As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung said:
“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff. As the President has said recently, there are many enemies…
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 10, 2026
Ad block users: Some site features may not work correctly while an ad blocker is enabled, because they break scripts and content this website depends on. If you can’t see comments below, for example, please disable your ad blocker.