Missile threat forced Trump to switch planes in Turkey, CNN reports

A credible threat of a portable missile attack forced the U.S. Secret Service to execute a covert plan for President Donald Trump to switch planes while traveling from Turkey in July. The intelligence was specific enough that agents believed Trump's life was at "enormous risk" if he departed from Ankara on his usual aircraft after a NATO summit.

The source, cited by CNN, did not reveal the origin of the alert but indicated it was considered a grave threat due to precise details Iranians appeared to possess about Trump's arrangements in Turkey. This prompted the Secret Service, amidst U.S. and Israeli actions against Iran, to devise a strategy for Trump to board Air Force One, then secretly disembark and board a military aircraft. He returned to the U.S. on this military plane, accompanied by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and several advisors.

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enormous risk

Meanwhile, Secretaries of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Scott Bessent remained on a decoy plane, publicly identified as AF1 despite Trump's absence. Both were aware of the switch. The accompanying press corps was not informed of these movements, with the Secret Service instructing them to cover their windows without explanation, an unusual occurrence for such trips.

Trump later stated that the plane he initially boarded "ran a greater risk" and would likely have been the target. He asserted he was merely following Secret Service instructions. The operation, revealed by The Washington Post, has sparked controversy over the use of the presidential plane as a decoy with journalists and White House staff aboard.

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The plane I flew on ran a greater risk. I think that would be the plane they would probably attack