Rubio and Bessent stayed on decoy flight from Turkey as Trump switched planes, official says
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- Rubio and Bessent flew on what was effectively a decoy plane from Turkey while Trump was secretly moved to a smaller military jet following an Iranian threat, according to a senior U.S. official briefed on the situation
- Rubio was aware of the switch and the threat details but could or would not say why he stayed on the original plane, while Bessent was likely aware though the official did not know for sure
- Trump had flown to the NATO summit in Ankara on a new Qatari-gifted, retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet, but told reporters before departing he'd fly partway home on an older-model baby blue Air Force One
- The Washington Post reported Trump was smuggled onto another jet via a catering cart to avoid a possible Iranian assassination plot, while journalists and some White House staff believed they were on the same plane as the president
- The New York Times and CBS News had reported intelligence officials raised concerns about a potential attack on Trump or his jet, triggering the decision not to use the newly inaugurated Qatari-gifted aircraft for the first leg of his trip home from Ankara
- Trump acknowledged the transfer late Tuesday, telling reporters at Joint Base Andrews: 'They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it.'
Why it matters: Rubio and Bessent—second and third in the presidential line of succession—were used as decoys based on intelligence that, per The Washington Post, the CIA assessed with only 'low confidence.' This exposes a gap between uncertain threat intelligence and operational security decisions for a president already targeted in multiple assassination attempts.
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