Trump Secretly Evacuated as Air Force One Became Flying Decoy
President Donald Trump was clandestinely evacuated from Air Force One in a catering container after US intelligence detected a credible Iranian threat against the presidential jet, according to a detailed report from The Guardian. The imperiled aircraft then served as a flying decoy, carrying more than 100 aides, officials, and journalists who were unaware the president was no longer on board.
The Secret Evacuation
The elaborate operation unfolded on July 8 at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. In full view of television cameras, Trump boarded the older Boeing 747 Air Force One aircraft. Minutes later, he and several members of his entourage secretly exited through a door on the opposite side of the aircraft, where security personnel had positioned a catering truck hydraulically raised to aircraft-door level.
According to BBC News, Trump was transported to a nearby C-32A military aircraft - a modified Boeing 757 often used by the vice president. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs in an effort to make the flight appear normal.
The C-32A carrying Trump flew under the call sign “Reach 18” with tracking systems switched off, while the decoy Air Force One continued to use the “AF1” call sign and appeared on flight-tracking systems. Journalists and White House staff who boarded the older aircraft were instructed to close their window shades before takeoff, unaware the president was no longer aboard.
Cabinet Members on the Decoy
Two members of Trump’s cabinet remained on the decoy aircraft, according to CBS News reporting cited by the BBC. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stayed aboard the original aircraft to maintain the line of succession in case something happened to the president. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Communications Director Steven Cheung were also on the decoy plane.
Both aircraft landed at RAF Mildenhall in Britain - the C-32A arrived first, followed minutes later by the decoy Air Force One. Trump was secretly transferred back to the older Air Force One and appeared to descend from it, creating the impression he had traveled on it all along. He then boarded the new Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar and flew to Washington.
The Threat Intelligence
Officials told CBS News that the US had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane. According to ynetnews, The New York Times reported that US intelligence had information of a person near the NATO summit who had been seen with a shoulder-fired missile. Iranian operatives were believed to know specifically where Trump was staying in Ankara, including the floor of the building.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the intelligence was supplied by Israel, with US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirming this. The incident occurred a day after the US renewed military strikes on Iran following a breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Trump Confirms the Switch
Trump confirmed the plane switch during a visit to Ohio on August 11, saying he follows Secret Service and military directions. “I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane,” Trump told reporters, according to BBC News. “I just have to do what they say.”
Trump suggested the plane he ultimately flew on was at greater risk than the decoy. “I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” he said. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”
When asked about the threat, Trump said: “Well, it’s only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do.” He also acknowledged the danger to those on the decoy flight, saying: “You’re probably on a dangerous flight. But if I go, you go. Right?”
Unprecedented Deception Raises Questions
The operation has sparked controversy over the safety of those left on the decoy plane and questions about the administration’s decision to deceive the press corps. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called the operation “unprecedented and surreal” and “downright scary,” according to The Guardian’s follow-up analysis.
“There has to be a congressional briefing because it involves not just the safety of the president,” Blumenthal said. “I want to know what precautions were taken to make sure that all of the passengers on that Air Force One, which was judged too dangerous for the president to fly on, what precautions were taken to keep the staff and reporters on that plane safe?”
Steven Cash, executive director of Steady State and a former CIA intelligence officer, was more blunt: “It appears that the idea was we can reduce the danger to President Trump by offering up 100 or so people to be killed by the Iranians in his place.”
Ned Price, a former deputy to the US ambassador to the UN, accused the administration of perpetuating an “outright lie” for weeks and turning reporters into “unwitting conspirators.” He said there was a way to protect the president without deceiving the press: “They could have enlisted the travelling press pool, who would have very willingly, I am certain, not reported on certain security arrangements.”
Historical Precedent and the Secret Service ‘Shell Game’
While deception to protect presidents is not new, the scale of this operation was unprecedented. As BBC News reported, previous presidents have used decoy aircraft - including Bill Clinton’s 2000 flight to Pakistan and George W. Bush’s secret 2003 Thanksgiving trip to Baghdad. However, in all previous cases, the media on board was aware of the deception and agreed not to report it in real time.
Secret Service “shell game” tactics - such as using multiple identical limousines that switch positions or flying Marine One helicopters in groups of three - are standard practice. But never before had an Air Force One full of White House staff and journalists been used as a decoy during an imminent threat.
Expert Analysis on the Threat
Not all experts are convinced the threat justified the extraordinary measures. Ankit Panda, Stanton senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told The Guardian: “From the Iranian perspective, pulling off an attempted targeting of presidential aircraft at this depth would be extremely implausible; it would require close-in clandestine operators with man-portable anti-air systems.”
Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, distinguished fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, noted that “Iran doesn’t have surface-to-air missiles that could target an aircraft taking off from Ankara,” suggesting US officials may have been worried about “a terrorist-like attack using a man-portable air defense system.”
However, James Jeffrey, former US ambassador to Turkey, said the secrecy pointed to serious intelligence: “This is very unusual, and indicates that they had very good intelligence of a threat, and that they did not trust the aircraft that he was in.”
What’s Next
Democrats are calling for a congressional briefing on the operation, and questions remain about the security capabilities of the Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, which reportedly lacks some missile-detection and countermeasure systems installed on older Air Force One aircraft. The White House has announced Trump will return to using older presidential aircraft for about a month while the newer plane undergoes “additional upgrades and improvements.”
As BBC’s Anthony Zurcher noted in analysis, the optics of Trump hiding in a catering truck from an apparent Iranian threat are less than ideal for a president who has repeatedly touted his strength - as well as the frailty of Iran’s military after months of war. The revelation underscores the personal stakes of the ongoing conflict with Iran and the lengths to which the administration will go to protect the president - even at the risk of those who serve and report alongside him.