Trump confirms secret flight from Turkey after Iran threat: Why he switched from Air Force One

“I think ​actually the plane that I flew ‌on ⁠was at greater risk,” he said, confirming the potential threat. “I ​think ⁠it was at greater risk because that ​would be the ​plane ⁠I think that they would be more likely to ⁠go ​for.”

#WATCH | US President Donald J Trump says, “It’s only up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do. I go by the Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I did… https://t.co/g7GCshkcAq pic.twitter.com/IM8Ful4OaS

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2026

How Trump was secretly moved between aircraft

Trump had travelled to Ankara for a NATO summit before he was secretly moved from the presidential aircraft after US officials received a credible threat involving Iran, according to The Washington Post. The threat was reported to involve a possible attack on Trump or his aircraft.

The operation, described by a US official as a “deception operation”, involved moving Trump across the tarmac in an airport catering truck before he boarded a smaller US Air Force C-32A, according to The Washington Post.

The US president’s actual location was concealed from journalists travelling with him and even from certain White House staff.

Reporters travelling on what they believed was Trump’s flight were instructed to keep the window shades in the press cabin closed. When asked about this later, Trump explained it was because they were “probably on a dangerous flight,” adding, “But if I go, you go. Right?”

Trump had flown to Turkey aboard the newly renovated Boeing 747-8 gifted by Qatar, using it for his first international trip on the aircraft. The jet’s security and the speed and cost of its upgrades had previously come under scrutiny.