RismadarVoice Reporters, August 12, 2026
US President Donald Trump has confirmed that he was secretly moved from Air Force One to another aircraft during a trip to Turkey after what he described as a threat to his life.
Trump’s confirmation followed a report by The Washington Post that he was covertly removed from the presidential aircraft before it departed Turkey on July 8, while journalists and senior aides remained on board.
“They wanted me to go in a different flight, a different plane — equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it.”
According to the report, Trump boarded Air Force One in view of photographers and television cameras but was later moved through a catering container to a smaller US Air Force aircraft positioned nearby.
The presidential plane subsequently departed with about a dozen journalists who had been travelling in a separate section and were unaware that Trump had left the aircraft.
Some members of the travelling press expressed concern that they had unknowingly remained on the plane despite the reported threat, while others criticised the White House for failing to inform them about the security operation.
Trump, however, dismissed concerns over the incident, saying he believed the aircraft he ultimately boarded may have been at greater risk.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” he said, adding that it was the aircraft he believed an attacker would have been more likely to target.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had warned the US about a possible shoulder-fired missile attack against Air Force One. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was among senior officials and staff who reportedly remained on the presidential aircraft.
Reports from journalists aboard the plane also indicated that Secret Service personnel ordered passengers to lower their window shades during takeoff, an unusual security measure outside active combat zones.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for Congress to receive a briefing on what he described as the Iranian threats against Trump and the extraordinary measures taken to move him out of Turkey.
The reported incident occurred during Trump’s trip to a NATO summit and came amid questions over the security of a Boeing 747 gifted to the United States by Qatar and being prepared for use as a presidential aircraft.
The Qatar-provided aircraft reportedly lacked some of the anti-missile security systems associated with the existing Air Force One fleet, prompting the use of an older presidential aircraft during part of the trip.
Trump had previously told reporters that the Qatar aircraft was being made available for US troops in Britain to tour before he later used it for his return flight to Washington.
Secret switches involving US presidents have occurred before.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton reportedly changed presidential aircraft during a trip from India to Pakistan, with a decoy plane carrying Secret Service agents used as part of the security operation.
President Joe Biden’s 2023 visit to Ukraine was also conducted under tight secrecy, involving a long journey by plane and train before he arrived in Kyiv.
