The container was then lowered on to a truck which took Trump to a military plane nearby.
Some of the president’s top aides stayed on Air Force One as “a decoy”, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and several journalists.
President Donald Trump walks towards his motorcade after arriving at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on July 9, following the NATO Summit in Turkey. (Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
The operation was so secret that some members of the president’s staff were kept in the dark about it.
The covert scheme came amid an escalating war with Iran and the regime vowing to retaliate against the president for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, formerly a top general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Trump had flown to the NATO summit in Ankara aboard a newly renovated Qatari-donated jet.
It was the first international trip for the new plane, whose hurried upgrades triggered questions over its cost and security.
Before departing the Turkish capital, the president and his top aides told reporters he’d be flying out on an older baby blue Air Force One plane “for old time’s sake” to RAF Mildenhall in Britain, while the new Qatari-gifted plane stopped at the same base so US service members stationed there could tour the aircraft.
But after Trump boarded the old Air Force One in front of cameras in Ankara, he was secretly shuttled by the airport catering truck to the smaller plane, an Air Force C-32A.
The WSJ had previously reported that the Secret Service, the White House’s military office and some national-security official made the decision for Trump not to fly to the UK on the new Qatari plane because it lacked adequate defensive capabilities.
Reporters travelling on the older Air Force One from Turkey to Britain were asked to close their window shades as the plane took off.
Asked later that day if he knew why reporters were asked to close the shades, Trump replied: “You’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.
“I’m number one on their list, before you, but if I go, you go right? So perhaps some day you want to change professions.”
Trump didn’t initially disclose the clandestine catering truck operation.
But he later admitted: “I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane.
“I just have to do what they say, 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 also stressed that he “doesn’t trust Iran.”
He said: “Are you saying I trust Iran?! I’m the last person to trust Iran. “They’ve lied to me constantly. We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now… we own it.
“At some point maybe they’ll do something and get blown away, but right now we’re in a very good position.”
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump’s aides used a similar decoy plane after learning of threats against his life.
Aides joked during the campaign that they were “the bait” on such flights.
