President Donald Trump reportedly switched from Air Force One to a smaller aircraft when departing Ankara last month amid a credible Iranian assassination threat during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.
Bait and Switch?
While Trump had said that he would not be boarding the Qatar-gifted Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) 747-8 jet and instead would be departing in the Air Force One from Turkey, the President instead moved to the smaller Air Force C-32A with the call sign “Reach 18” via a catering truck on the other side after waving at the press when entering the Air Force One, the Washington Post reported on Monday.
The White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.
Reporters and some White House staff members traveled unknowingly on the old Air Force One as decoys, unaware that Trump was not on board the aircraft, the report said. Journalists on board the older aircraft were asked to keep the shades of the window down.
The Timeline
Aviation tracking data cited by the report said that Trump’s Qatar jet landed at the Mildenhall air base in Britain at 6:26 p.m. local time on July 8, while the Air Force One arrived at 10:29 p.m. local time.
Data for the C-32A aircraft was not available, the report said, but it said that the aircraft landed at the air base at about 10:20 p.m., citing amateur aviation trackers.
The report said it was not clear how Trump exited the C-32A aircraft and got on board Air Force One, but the President was seen emerging from the old Air Force One close to 11:00 p.m. before boarding the Qatari jet back to Washington, the report said.
When the reporters asked Trump why they were told to keep the window shades down, he said that it was because they were on “a dangerous flight” and that he was under threat all the time. “But if I go, you go. Right?” Trump told reporters. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions,” he said, according to the report.
Iran War
While the operation was undertaken as the U.S.-Iran talks broke down, tensions remain between the two sides. The Iranian government demanded compensation from the U.S. for the damages Tehran sustained during the strikes as a condition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump countered Iran by saying that he would also seek compensation from Iran, reiterating that the Strait of Hormuz was open.
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