United States President Donald Trump has disclosed that he secretly left Air Force One and boarded a different aircraft while in Türkiye in July, following a security threat flagged by the Secret Service and the military.
Trump made the disclosure in an interview with reporters after an event in Ohio this week.
“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane,” Trump said.
“I just have to do what they say. I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”
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—How The Switch Happened—
According to a report published by The Washington Post on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, Trump was in Türkiye for a NATO summit.
In full view of cameras, he boarded Air Force One at the airport. But shortly after, he exited the aircraft through an airport catering truck and transferred to a smaller U.S. Air Force plane parked nearby.
Air Force One then departed Türkiye as scheduled, carrying senior White House officials, staff, and members of the press corps — none of whom were aware at the time that the President was no longer aboard.
The decoy departure is a tactic U.S. security agencies occasionally use when a credible threat is detected against the President’s known movements.
Trump’s trip to Türkiye was for a NATO leaders’ summit held in July.
Details of the specific threat that prompted the aircraft switch have not been made public by the Secret Service or the Pentagon.
The President downplayed concerns, saying threats against him are routine.
“I get a lot of threats,” he added.
The White House has not released an official statement on the incident beyond the President’s remarks.
The revelation comes amid heightened security protocols for world leaders attending international summits, with intelligence agencies on alert for potential threats to high-profile delegations.
