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President Donald Trump on Tuesday night confirmed reports that he secretly switched from Air Force One to a different airplane when leaving Turkey last month, due to a threat from Iran. The president said he quietly switched back to Air Force One during a stop in Britain before returning home.
A Washington Post reporter first broke news of the switch, writing that after Trump boarded his usual plane, he snuck into an airport catering truck that took him to the other plane. Air Force One took off from Turkey with journalists and staffers aboard, followed by the other plane.
Trump said he switched planes upon direction of his Secret Service protectors and the U.S. military. He was told of a threat but didn’t ask too many questions, he said. The president downplayed the risk to those who remained aboard Air Force One at the time, saying that he believed he ran the greater risk. Some critics took issue with the manuever, pointing out that journalists aboard Air Force One were unaware of the threat or the president’s plane switch.
The incident occurred in early July when Trump left a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The U.S. military had just renewed attacks against Iran, at Trump’s order, after Iran hit commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.