🛫 Trump hid in catering cart; secretly flown out of Turkey after Iranian assassination threat
President Donald Trump secretly flew out of last month's Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, on an alternate military aircraft while the White House made it appear that the Republican president was flying on Air Force One, according to a report published by The Washington Post on Monday (Aug 10).
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🛫 Full Details: Trump Secretly Flown Out of Turkey Amid Iranian Assassination Threat
Source: The Washington Post (published Aug 10, 2026), via Associated Press report
Incident date: July 8, 2026 — after NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey
📌 What Happened
- Reported threat: The operation was triggered by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump, amid large-scale US military strikes on Iran over its attacks on commercial shipping in the region.
- Public cover story: Trump had traveled to the summit aboard a new, custom-retrofitted jet gifted by Qatar (red/white/navy blue). Before departure, he publicly announced he would fly the first leg home on an older “baby blue” Air Force One — saying the new jet would be sent ahead so US troops at RAF Mildenhall (UK) could inspect it.
- Secret evacuation: After boarding the older Air Force One in view of cameras, minutes later he and a small group of aides slipped out via a hydraulically elevated airport catering truck (normally used to load meals/supplies) on the opposite side of the plane from the press entrance.
- Alternate flight: He was transferred unseen to a smaller military aircraft — a C-32A — and flown to RAF Mildenhall, while journalists and some staff were kept aboard the older Air Force One, told to lower window shades before takeoff to maintain the ruse.
- Reappearance: Upon landing in the UK, photos showed him disembarking from the older Air Force One — he had quietly reboarded it out of sight of the press pool — before switching to the new Qatari-donated jet for the final leg back to Washington, D.C.
📢 Official Responses
- White House: Did not directly confirm/deny the operation. Spokesperson Steven Cheung stated: “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.” He also maintained the new Qatari plane is “state-of-the-art with high-level security protocols” and would receive further upgrades.
- US Secret Service: Declined to comment.
- US Air Force: Referred questions to the White House.
- Trump’s own remarks: When asked about threats aboard the plane during the flight, he said: “Well, I have a threat all the time. I’m number one on their list… But if I go, you go.”
🧐 Context & Reactions
- Security concerns: Earlier reports (NYT, CBS) noted intelligence warnings of possible attacks on the president or his aircraft — leading to the decision not to use the new jet for the departure leg, raising questions about its security status.
- Expert view: Former Secret Service agent Paul Eckloff called it “unusual but not unprecedented” — reflecting either specific actionable intelligence or extreme caution amid tensions over the Iran conflict.
- Political reaction: Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional investigation, calling it “unprecedented, surreal and downright scary”.
Note: The Associated Press has not independently verified The Washington Post’s account of the operation.