- On July 8, Mr. Trump announced he would leave Ankara in the old Air Force One rather than a newer Qatari-donated jet that he had taken to the NATO summit.
- Video footage captured by the press showed the president walking up the stairs of the old Air Force One and disappearing into the plane, with a catering truck visible on the other side of the jet. Several minutes later, the truck pulled away and drove off to another U.S. government plane, which The Washington Post reported was an Air Force C-32A.
- Trump secretly left the publicly identified Air Force One, with Rubio and Bessent on a decoy flight, while he flew on a separate secret plane with Hegseth and aides.
- Mr. Trump told CBS News' Nancy Cordes on Tuesday night that the decision to take the secret flight was made by the military and Secret Service, who "wanted me to go in a different flight." He said it was in response to a threat, which he called unsurprising, noting that he gets "a lot of threats."
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the secret flight with Mr. Trump out of Turkey, along with White House aides Natalie Harp, Walt Nauta, and Dan Scavino.
- Rubio and Bessent, who separated and maintained the line of succession, were aware the president was on another, secret plane.
- Several other White House aides were on the decoy flight, including Stephen Miller, Will Scharf, Steven Cheung, Mike Needham, Ross Worthington, and Monica Crowley.
- While the plane the president is traveling on is supposed to be identified as Air Force One, the decoy flight was publicly identified as Air Force One.
President Trump took a secret flight out of Turkey, accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and several White House aides, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were on a decoy flight publicly identified as Air Force One.478911
The decision for the secret flight was made by the military and Secret Service due to a perceived threat, which Trump described as unsurprising, stating he receives "a lot of threats."56
On July 8, Trump announced he would leave Ankara in the old Air Force One rather than a newer Qatari-donated jet. Video footage captured him boarding the plane, with a catering truck visible nearby. Minutes later, the truck departed to another U.S. government plane, identified as an Air Force C-32A.123
Sources indicate that Rubio and Bessent were aware of the president's separate flight, maintaining the line of succession. Other aides on the decoy flight included Stephen Miller, Will Scharf, Steven Cheung, Mike Needham, Ross Worthington, and Monica Crowley.10
“The decoy flight carried several White House aides, including Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung, to maintain the line of succession. Trump told CBS News' Nancy Cordes that the military and Secret Service made the decision due to a threat, which he called unsurprising.”
CBS News
