US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Trump confirms switching planes after NATO summit due to alleged Iranian threats
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that he switched aircraft when departing the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, last month on the advice of the Secret Service and military amid a credible threat, saying he routinely faces such risks and follows protective guidance without seeking extensive details.
In remarks given to journalists, Trump said: “I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane… I do what they say… I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”
.@POTUS: "I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane... I do what they say... I guess there was a threat out there. I didn't really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats." pic.twitter.com/Q5SgBpU1n1
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 12, 2026
The comments followed reports detailing an elaborate security operation on July 8. Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a new Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar and recently retrofitted for presidential use.
Amid heightened US-Iran tensions, intelligence indicated a credible plot by Iranian proxy forces to target the president or his aircraft with a missile.
Officials directed a switch. Trump publicly boarded the older, traditional Air Force One (a VC-25A) in view of cameras, stating at the time that he was flying it “for old time’s sake” while sending the Qatari jet ahead to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom so service members could tour it.
In reality, according to reports citing officials, he was then transferred via an airport catering truck—elevated to a door on the opposite side of the plane—to a smaller Air Force C-32A (a modified Boeing 757).
The older Air Force One, carrying journalists and some White House staff who were unaware of the full arrangement and instructed to close window shades, departed as a decoy under the Air Force One call sign.
Trump flew secretly to Mildenhall on the C-32A. There, he was moved back to the older plane before transferring to the Qatari jet for the final leg home.
The episode occurred against a backdrop of Trump repeatedly stating during the summit that he ranked high on Iranian target lists, with the new aircraft’s defensive systems also drawing scrutiny relative to the older fleet’s capabilities.
