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(The Hill) — President Trump secretly departed the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, last month using an alternate military aircraft amid security concerns involving Iran.
Trump boarded the old Air Force One jet before he was secretly shuttled to a smaller Air Force C-32A plane while inside a catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, making the old jet a “decoy” with some White House staff and reporters onboard, a U.S. official told the outlet, which also cited corroborating material, the Washington Post reported Monday.
The president left the summit ahead of renewed U.S. strikes on Iran after negotiations to end the conflict with the Islamic Republic broke down weeks after signing an interim peace deal. He started to use the new Air Force One days before any threats came from Iran.
The White House previously said the president left the summit aboard the older Air Force One. Not all White House staff knew about the plan that included a third plane, the Post reported, citing material reviewed by the outlet, a U.S. official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel.
The New York Times confirmed the Post’s reporting.
White House communications director Steven Cheung did not address the story when asked by The Hill’s sister network NewsNation about the report, but said the new plane gifted to Trump by the Qataris was a “state-of-the-art aircraft” fitted with “high-level security protocols” ensuring the president and his staff’s safety.
“As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Cheung added.