Trump hid in catering truck in secret plane swap over Iran threat, reports say
By: Jessica Rawnsley
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJessica Rawnsley
Donald Trump secretly swapped planes as he left a Nato summit in Turkey last month, as part of an elaborate ruse in response to a possible Iranian threat, US media report.
The US president boarded Air Force One in view of television cameras before being transported to a military aircraft with the help of a catering truck, the Washington Post said. Journalists and some White House staff on board did not know he had been smuggled out.
Officials told the BBC's US partner CBS News that the US had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane. The White House has not confirmed the secret switch.
Trump had earlier said he was Iran's "number one target" during the summit in Ankara.
The clandestine manoeuvre came a day after the US renewed military strikes on Iran following a breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the war.
Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, but announced that he would leave on the old Air Force One "for old time's sake".
On 8 July, footage showed him boarding the presidential jet at Ankara airport. But according to the Washington Post, he was then secretly taken to a smaller C-32A military aircraft - a modified Boeing 757 often used by the vice-president - via a catering truck which had been elevated to plane level on the opposite side to where he had boarded.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs in an effort to make the flight appear normal, according to the newspaper.
Journalists and some White House staff boarded Air Force One and were reportedly told to close their window shades. They were unaware the president was no longer on board.
A pool producer who was on the plane said one unusual moment on the flight was the request that members of the press keep the shades down. A photographer briefly opened one and was quickly told to close it and that it was a request from the Secret Service, which guards the president.
The producer, in a report from the White House Correspondents Association provided on Tuesday, also noted there appeared to have been two catering trucks at both the front and back of the plane when the press arrived, and their van had been too far back in the motorcade at the airport be able to take a photo of the president boarding.
Technically "Air Force One" is the call sign for any aircraft carrying the US president. But on this occasion, the C-32A used the call sign "Reach 18", while the aircraft carrying the journalists continued to use "AF1" in order to keep up the ruse.
Trump then flew to the UK en route to the US, where he reboarded the old Air Force One and was seen descending from the aircraft after it landed at RAF Mildenhall. It is unclear how he moved from the C-32A back to the legacy jet.
Reuters
The president then transferred to the new Qatari-donated Air Force One to travel back to Washington.
During that flight, Trump spoke to reporters on board where he noted the threats posed by Iran but did not mention the earlier plane swap.
Asked why reporters had been told to lower the window shades on the plane from Turkey, Trump said: "Because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags we have to deal with."
He said he had a "threat all the time" on his life, and that he is "number one" on Iran's "list".
"But if I go, you go, right?", he said, adding: "Perhaps someday you want to change professions."
Reuters
White House communications director Steven Cheung did not directly confirm or deny the reports, but said the new Air Force One was a "state-of-the-art aircraft" fitted with security measures to protect the president and his staff.
US intelligence had previously warned of a specific threat of an attack on Trump or his aircraft, according to earlier reporting by CBS News.
The New York Times previously reported on security concerns regarding the Qatari-gifted jet, including that the Secret Service had urged Trump to switch planes on his return from the Nato summit.
Several of the publication's journalists were summoned to testify under oath in response. The Justice Department subsequently told the BBC that it was investigating illegal leaks.
The US has spent months retrofitting the $400m Boeing 747-8 to prepare it for the president. Older Air Force One planes have laser technology to blind incoming missiles, sources have told CBS News. It is unclear what systems the Qatari jet has.
"The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the president's travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to CBS News.
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Donald TrumpUnited StatesIran
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a catering truck.....
He never goes anywhere without one.
They had to restock all the food after he left.
…should become an exhibit at his ‘presidential’ ‘library’ one day. Maybe he can gold-plate it too.
Absolutely!
too bad the secret service couldn't find a trash bag big enough to stuff that POS into ...
the sewage truck would've been more appropriate ...
He's a dick, but if this is what his Secret Service detail told him to do then I don't fault him for it.
I guess so...
always the voice of reason you are
the secret service might be a little hyper-sensitive. statistically, based upon the last 2 years, trump is safer outside of the US ...
I guess he's no Harrison Ford -
What was that he said about being the first to run into the fire?
Reports are saying Trump and his insiders used the press as a decoy by sending them alone on the plane Trump was supposed to be on.
copilot
Reporting from multiple outlets indicates that Donald Trump’s security team left the press pool aboard Air Force One as a decoy during a July 8, 2026 departure from Turkey, while Trump himself was secretly moved to a different aircraft. This did place the press pool in potential danger, according to the reporting.
🧭 What the reporting says happened
Intelligence agencies warned of a credible Iranian assassination threat targeting Trump’s aircraft.
Trump boarded the old Air Force One in full view of cameras, creating the appearance that he was on the plane.
Minutes later, he was smuggled off the aircraft via an airport catering truck and transferred to a smaller C‑32A military jet.
The press pool and some White House staff remained aboard the decoy Air Force One, unaware that Trump was no longer on the plane.
Reporters were instructed to keep window blinds closed, which later appeared to be a deliberate tactic to prevent them from noticing Trump’s absence.
⚠️ Did this put the press pool in danger?
According to the reporting:
Air Force One was used as “live bait” for potential Iranian missile targeting.
Journalists were not informed of the threat or of Trump’s removal from the aircraft.
The decoy plane—with the press aboard—was the aircraft that intelligence believed might be targeted.
This means the press pool was placed at risk without their knowledge, and the danger was a direct consequence of the decoy operation.
Apparently, they used the press and some of is own staff.
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Apparently, they used the press and some of is own staff.
The staff that ended up on the plane are probably the most disposable to Trump, and we already know how he despises the press. Seeing as how Trump sees the world through a sensationalist Hollywood lens, it wouldn’t be out of place for him to have arranged for a terrorist to have a shoulder mounted rocket launcher in an ideal location. He’s a sick lunatic who would feel nothing about doing so. This is the kind of psycho that would set off a tiny explosive behind his ear in order to create the illusion of an assassination attempt, then proudly engage the public with an oversized bandage only for the world to witness a perfectly untouched ear afterward. How did the last “assassin” manage to run through his security with a rifle without getting shot? If that were a real event, Trump is the kind of subhuman that would be furious that someone who attempted to take his life just ran through the room without taking a single bullet from his huge security detail.
allegedly, that's the back story of why karoline suddenly decided to spend more time with her family. she got stuck riding the targeted decoy plane with the rest of the disposables, while only the new bimbo got to ride with the maga great white dope ...
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Apparently, everyone else on the plane is expendable.
That's the same thing he thinks about the military.
Nobody matters to Trump other than Trump.
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Well Clinton did it once and the reporters respected him so much that the secret held for 26 years.
Trump, apparently, not so much.
I said on Day 1 of the Qatari gift, that it would be impossible to retrofit the necessary defensive systems that exist on the real AF1 and older AF planes.
MANPADS have changed the world as far as security, especially for a huge target like a 747 ( VC-25 ).
it's not a left vs right issue.
it's common sense, something sorely lacking in this Administration.
trump's 747 shell game in turkey was a failed attempt to rid himself of marco and the WH press corps, while at the same time a play for the sympathy vote if iran was successful at dropping either plane thinking the great satan was inside ...
Do you think that Trump gives one shit about anyone other than himself? If you start mentioning his family then I will ask you to then go beyond family to people in general. Trump has and will throw long-term servants under the bus in a second. People, to Trump, are simply resources to serve his needs. How anyone cannot see this is remarkable.
What I think about, "who Trump cares for" would just be an opinion the same as yours. The topic is his changing planes which isn't his call, it's the Secret Service if you have a problem with the Secret Service changing planes, let's hear it. Given the multiple attempts on his life, it doesn't surprise me one bit.
Again you evade the question.
I have not criticized the Secret Service. My comment was that Trump does not give one shit about anyone.
You replied to my comment. If you are not interested in opining, then why did you reply?
Offer something of value.
... why do you suppose that is?
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I don't think it's any mystery how MAGA would have reacted to this story had it been Biden shuffled off a plane in a catering truck while the rest of the press core road in the decoy plane. But sure, let's pretend that Trump supporters aren't massive hypocrites and that we should be very serious about Diaper Donnie's brush with biscuits.
No president has any say in what the Secret Service says.
There have been several presidents in the past that have used decoys, including Bill Clinton. The media knows what type of job they are in when they volunteer to travel with the president.
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How is it that you believe such nonsense?
Your post implies that you are blind to all the crap that Trump has pulled. All the terrible decisions, corruption, lawfare, dishonesty, lawlessness, incompetence, arrogance, unpresidential behavior, etc. This bozo is without doubt the worst PotUS in our history and you think his critics are simply pissed that he beat Clinton.
The majority (about 65%) disapprove of Trump's performance yet you think that this is about Clinton in 2016!
Laughably absurd.
the problem is flying around in the Qatari gift, anywhere, which the USSS let him do for several weeks.
They could not stop him.
Apparently Erdojan got some common sense through to someone.
That's pretty naive.
Why was Trump flying the plane around the States for two weeks? Because no one says NO to him and his new gold limo.
(Except that guy who used to post the inflation and cost numbers)
And the same brain trust, that let Trump fly the defenseless Qatari limousine to Turkey,
put him on a capable VC-25 with all of it's defensive capacity and ability to refuel midair
and smuggled him onto a defenseless C-32 air taxi.
Brilliant
What are the chances in about two and a half years we learn the jobs, GDP and inflation numbers the Trump administration is giving us now were grossly inaccurate? About 100%! People already know that inflation is greater than they are admitting.
They are inaccurate if they have to please Trump to be printed.
Reminds me of car dealer way back when with two sets of books...
Trump fired the BLS chief over 'rigged' data claims. Economists say it cost the economy $20 billion
Sadly, that's only true for those on the outside of the Asch conformity test going on right now in Red States. If you're in those deep red areas, you're not allowed to believe 4+4=8, you must believe 4+4=Hillary Clintons email server and that the four Americans who died in Benghazi were FAR more valuable than the 18 killed so far in their dear Leaders war of choice. They demanded years of fucking Benghazi hearings proving not a God damn thing while they just give a fucking hall pass to their dear Leader to do whatever the fuck he wants. These are not sane people, and sadly they weed out those with reason and rational thought quicker than a Terrier sniffs out some bacon, so you have millions of people that believe the lies because, when it comes down to it, ignorance is bliss. And being actually ignorant, blocking out facts and reality, makes it even easier. They'd rather get put back in the MAGA Matrix where their white Christian male privilege is King even though it's all built on the lies they tell themselves.
Trump really did pick his base of supporters well.
Because he's so well loved!!!!!!!
I live in Arkansas. Some days I'm not sure that 2+2 = 5
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What's the problem? Has there been an attempt on the Qatari AF1?
Do you think the USSS gets its intel from Erdojan?
You replied to my post where (in the context of this seed) I noted that Trump does not give a shit about anyone else.
Either rebut it logically or move on. Whining that this is off-topic is both wrong and basic trolling.
Explain to us all why you think I was wrong to note that Trump does not care about other people. That he will use them for his purposes and cavalierly discard them if they do not serve his purposes. He does not care about his cabinet. He is perfectly content to protect himself and let the others unknowingly serve as decoys.
And do not come back with more fucking off-topic nonsense. Either put forth an actual rebuttal or admit that you have nothing to offer.
They get better intel from Turkey (a NATO Ally) than they do from the Netanyahu ( a dependent stepchild )
Yes they do, they are still president and as trump has said many times, "he can do whatever he wants".
I think some one forgot that the seeder (me) is the final arbiter of what is off topic.
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Trump hid in catering truck in secret plane swap over Iran threat
Unconfirmed dialogue allededly overheard by a "usually reliable source" in the area:
Is that a president in your catering truck over the Iran threat . . . or are you just glad to see me?
That's so immature, ............................................................................................Lmao! still!
Goddamn, John! So glad I didn't have a mouthful of water!
24 hours after this, KKKaroline levitt, (or however you spell it), announced her resignation after realizing that trump took off running after he found out Iran may have targeted AF1.....and left her and his staff to fly on the "bait plane". Guess that was the last straw for her.
And once again, trump proves that he cares literally, only about himself.
Seriously, he couldn't have quietly ask the SS to evacuate the plane and put the passengers on a different flight? "Naw, fuck'em, I gotta save myself!!!"
Ding, Ding, Ding.