New details have emerged about a covert change to President Donald Trump’s travel arrangements following a NATO summit in Turkey, revealing the extent of the security concerns surrounding the US president.
According to US officials, intelligence agencies identified a potential threat of an Iranian missile strike against Trump’s aircraft. The New York Times also reported that intelligence indicated a person near the NATO summit appeared to be carrying a shoulder-fired missile.
Trump previously confirmed that he had secretly switched aircraft after the summit last month, saying the decision was made at the direction of security officials. “I’m acting according to instructions from the Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, in a different plane. I just need to do what they tell me. I assume there was a threat there. I have a lot of threats that you don’t know about."
Administration officials told CBS News that US intelligence had identified the possibility of an Iranian attack targeting the president’s aircraft. Trump said he had not sought extensive details about the threat.
The operation to move Trump from Air Force One was carried out discreetly. After boarding the aircraft, Trump was directed to a catering truck that had been raised to the level of the plane on the opposite side. He was then secretly transferred to a smaller C-32A military aircraft, a modified Boeing 757 commonly used by the vice president.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth separately boarded the C-32A using external steps, helping make the transfer appear routine. Meanwhile, journalists and White House staff boarded Air Force One and were reportedly instructed to close the window shades, without being told that Trump was no longer aboard.
The New York Times reported that several members of Trump’s Cabinet remained on the original aircraft. Citing two anonymous sources, the newspaper said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were among those who stayed on Air Force One.
Trump flew to Britain aboard the C-32A before eventually returning to the presidential aircraft. He was later seen disembarking from Air Force One after it landed at RAF Mildenhall. The exact circumstances of the transfer back to the presidential aircraft have not been disclosed.
During the subsequent flight to Washington, Trump spoke with reporters about threats posed by Iran but did not reveal that he had earlier been moved to another aircraft because of a potential security threat.