Trump secretly switched planes in Turkey over Iran threat
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- Trump secretly exited a plane widely believed to be Air Force One on 8 July in Turkey, hiding on a catering truck to board a military plane, over security concerns involving Iran.
- Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent remained on the original aircraft — which retained the Air Force One call sign and became a decoy — specifically to preserve the presidential line of succession; they were joined by Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung.
- Pete Hegseth flew on the second aircraft that carried Trump out of Ankara, according to US media reports.
- Trump told reporters the military and Secret Service made the call to switch flights, but offered no specifics about the threat beyond saying he gets "a lot of threats."
- The White House press pool was not informed they were on a decoy, and WHCA president Jacqui Heinrich said she met with administration officials and requested a protocol for future extraordinary security situations.
- The operation echoes March 2000, when Bill Clinton flew to Islamabad on an unmarked jet after a decoy bearing Air Force One livery landed first — but in that case the White House briefed the WHCA in advance.
Why it matters: Rubio and Bessent stayed on the decoy specifically to preserve the line of succession, indicating the Iran-related threat was judged serious enough to warrant real-time continuity planning — yet the press pool aboard was kept entirely in the dark, prompting the WHCA to push for a formal protocol ahead of future high-risk trips.
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