Trump secretly moved off Air Force One due to 'credible' missile threat

The U.S. Secret Service moved then-President Donald Trump to a different, unmarked official aircraft due to a "credible and imminent" missile threat, a person familiar with the situation revealed. The extraordinary measure was taken during a trip to Turkey last month to prevent the president from being identified as a passenger on the Air Force One.

The operation, designed to conceal the president's movements, exposed a delicate situation: while the Secret Service deemed it too dangerous for Trump to travel on Air Force One, the plane departed with senior officials, White House advisers, military personnel, and journalists on board, none of whom were aware of the potential attack.

The threat emerged on the final day of Trump's visit to Ankara for an NATO summit. Intelligence information prompted the Secret Service to assess an imminent risk to the presidential aircraft. U.S. authorities were reportedly alarmed to discover that Iranian actors were aware of Trump's location in Ankara, including the exact floor of his hotel, heightening concerns about a potential operation to attack the president as he departed Turkey.

Facing this scenario, Trump and a small group of aides were discreetly transferred from Air Force One to a U.S. Air Force C-32A, a smaller aircraft lacking the identifying features of Air Force One. The transfer was reportedly facilitated by a catering truck to avoid detection. Trump flew in the C-32A to Great Britain, while the presidential plane, carrying the rest of the delegation and press corps, took off as a decoy.

Remarkably, the decoy aircraft was not empty. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, advisers Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung, White House staff, security agents, and 13 journalists remained aboard the Air Force One. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, along with members of Trump's inner circle including Dan Scavino, Natalie Harp, and Walt Nauta, traveled with Trump on the C-32A. The officials and journalists on the Air Force One were apparently unaware of the full extent of the threat.

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The Secret Service considered the threat to be credible and imminent, prompting an extraordinary operation to conceal the president's movements.