Trump Confirms Secret Turkey Plane Switch Amid Reported Iranian Threat — VIDEO
President Trump confirmed Tuesday evening that he secretly switched planes last month while leaving Ankara, Turkey.
Trump spoke with reporters after returning to DC from the Patriot Games final in Ohio. One reporter asked him about a Washington Post leak revealing that he had been moved from Air Force One before his flight to the UK.
The reported security operation used Air Force One as a decoy. Trump said the decision came from the Secret Service and the military.
“It’s only up to the Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do. So, I go by the Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane,” Trump told reporters.
When asked about the reason for the switch, Trump said he had not been given many details.
“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it,” Trump said.
Trump also suggested the alternate aircraft may have faced greater danger because it was the plane an attacker would have been more likely to target.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk. I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for,” Trump said.
WATCH: According to the report, Trump secretly flew from Turkey to the UK on July 8 after being moved from Air Force One because of an Iranian threat. Pool reporters believed they were traveling with the president aboard Air Force One.
EXCLUSIVE: An Iranian assassination threat against President Trump prompted an extraordinary operation last month in which he flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft while the White House said he was aboard Air Force One, The Washington Post has learned.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 10, 2026
The Washington Post report described the operation as an extraordinary response to an Iranian assassination threat against Trump. It said Trump had initially boarded the legacy Air Force One in Turkey.
He was then quietly transferred to a smaller military aircraft parked nearby. The source account identifies that aircraft as a C-2A in one passage and a C-32A in another.
The transfer reportedly happened out of sight of the media. Trump moved from one aircraft to the other aboard an airport catering truck, allowing reporters to continue believing he was on Air Force One.
That unusual maneuver kept the president’s actual flight hidden until the leak surfaced. Trump’s comments confirmed the plane switch but indicated that the security decision was made by the Secret Service and military personnel, not by him.
How did this happen? We’re told Trump boarded the legacy Air Force One in Turkey.
But moments later, he secretly moved from that jet to a smaller C-32A that was parked nearby. He moved from one jet to the next aboard an airport catering truck, out of sight from the media.
— Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe) August 10, 2026