Trump’s Secret Flight Raises Questions
US President Donald Trump secretly left what appeared to be Air Force One during a visit to Turkey last month, boarding another military aircraft because of security concerns linked to Iran, according to CBS News.
The unusual operation took place on 8 July. Trump first entered Air Force One along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and members of the White House press corps. He then reportedly hid inside a catering truck, which took him discreetly to a second aircraft.
The original plane continued to use the call sign “Air Force One”, even though the president was no longer on board. In effect, it became a decoy, according to BBC News.
Rubio and Bessent remained on the first aircraft. According to CBS, their presence was intended to preserve the line of succession in case Trump died or became unable to serve. Vice-President JD Vance would take power first, followed by the Speaker of the House, the Senate’s president pro tempore, the secretary of state and then the treasury secretary.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, communications director Steven Cheung and several other officials also stayed behind. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was reportedly on the second plane with Trump when it left Ankara.
Trump later said the military and Secret Service had decided that he should travel on a different aircraft. He said he receives “a lot of threats”, but gave no details about the specific danger.
It remains unclear what Rubio, Bessent, other officials and journalists knew about the deception—or whether those on the decoy plane faced any danger.
Secret Service “shell games” are not new. Presidential motorcades often use identical limousines, while helicopters may change positions to confuse potential attackers. During a 2000 visit to Pakistan, President Bill Clinton also travelled on an unmarked jet after a decoy aircraft bearing Air Force One’s markings.
The White House and the White House Correspondents’ Association have not publicly commented on the incident.
