Trump fled Turkey via catering truck over Iran threat
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- Trump was shuttled from a baby blue Air Force One to an Air Force C-32A via a hydraulic catering truck typically used to load meals, then flew to RAF Mildenhall on that smaller jet while reporters — told to lower their window shades — believed they were still with the President.
- White House communications director Steven Cheung acknowledged "many enemies of America who have their sights on him" but declined to directly confirm the elaborate deception, while the Secret Service and Air Force deferred to the White House.
- Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he is "number one on their list" regarding Iranian threats, confirming ongoing danger during the US military's large strikes in Iran.
- Senator Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional briefing on the operation, telling CNN it was "unprecedented" and "downright scary" — a rare public demand for intelligence oversight of a presidential extraction.
- Trump originally planned to fly home on a new Qatari-gifted red, white and navy blue jet, but the New York Times and CBS News reported intelligence officials raised concerns about a potential attack on the President or that aircraft, triggering the switch.
- Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service special agent, said the unusual move could reflect either actionable intelligence or "an abundance of caution" given volatility from the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
- The Washington Post report cited material the newspaper reviewed, a US official familiar with the operation, and another person with knowledge of Trump's travel; the Associated Press has not independently confirmed the account.
Why it matters: The catering-truck extraction reveals that US security officials deemed an Iranian threat to Trump's life serious enough to deceive the press corps during an active conflict — the US was conducting large strikes in Iran in retaliation for attacks on merchant shipping at the same time. A sitting senator is now demanding a congressional briefing, an unusual step that could pressure the administration to disclose the intelligence basis for the operation.
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