U.S. President Donald Trump was hidden in a food supply truck in order to switch military aircraft while departing last month’s NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, according to a report
An operation to remove Trump from his usual planee to an Iranian assassination threat that reportedly targeted Air ForceOne, that report said
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The ruse was carried out as journalists and some White House staff members were led to believe they were on the same plane as the president as he began his journey back to Washington from the gathering of NATO country leaders
The Washington Post cited material reviewed by the newspaper, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel
Trump flew to the summit on a Qatari-gifted red, white and navy blue jet, but before leaving Turkey, he said he would depart on an older-model, baby-blue Air Force One plane instead
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The president said the luxury Qatari aircraft was leaving from Ankara ahead of him so a group of U.S. troops stationed in the U.K. could get a chance to see it
In Ankara, Trump boarded the old Air Force One in view of cameras before the plane flew to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in eastern England
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According to the Post report, minutes after boarding the legacy Air Force One plane, he was shuttled to a smaller military jet — an Air Force C-32A — in an airport catering vehicle typically used to load meals and other flight supplies
Trump flew to Mildenhall on that smaller jet, the Washington Post and The Associated Press reported; the latter adding that after landing at the British air force base he was seen deplaning the old Air Force One, meaning he likely reboarded — out of sight of photographers and others already on the plane — to make it appear as though he had flown there on the original older jet he was seen boarding in Turkey
The White House did not respond directly to questions about the Post’s report of the under-the-radar operation to remove Trump on a third aircraft or the reported scheme to make it seem like he was always on the older Air Force One jet when he landed in the U.K
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement to The Associated Press
Paul Eckloff, a former special agent with the Secret Service, said such an unusual move could either reflect actionable intelligence or an abundance of caution given volatility in the region with the wars in Iran and Ukraine
“I would not say unprecedented, but it is an unusual occurrence,” Eckloff told the U.S. agency
The New York Times and CBS News reported last month that U.S. intelligence officials had raised concerns about a potential attack on the president or his plane, prompting the decision not to use the retrofitted Qatari aircraft — a Boeing 747-800 worth $400 million — for the first leg of Trump’s flight back to Washington
During Trump’s Turkey visit, which was in early July, the U.S. military launched a series of heavy missile strikes on Iran after it attacked merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz
Upon his return, the president said the Qatari jet would undergo upgrades to improve security
— with files from The Associated Press
