Rubio and Bessent remained aboard the decoy plane: new details of Trump's departure from Ankara
US President Donald Trump confirmed that he secretly switched planes during his departure from Ankara after the July NATO summit, following a recommendation by the Secret Service and US military. New details of the operation indicate that the large presidential Boeing 747 flew out of Turkey as a decoy — senior officials, White House staff, and journalists remained on board.
Trump said he followed the instructions of security and military officials, who asked him to use a different aircraft. According to the president, he was not provided with detailed information about the threat, and he himself did not press for details, as he regularly receives threats.
As CNN reports, citing a US official, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were aboard the large plane that left Ankara without Trump. Along with them flew other White House staff, military personnel, and members of the presidential press pool. Most passengers were unaware that the president was not on board.
Initially, Trump publicly boarded the older presidential Boeing 747. He then secretly left the plane through a catering delivery truck, which transported him to a smaller C-32A military aircraft.
After that, the new presidential plane donated by Qatar, the older Boeing 747 with officials and journalists, and the C-32A with Trump separately departed for the United Kingdom. At RAF Mildenhall, the president again switched to the Qatar-donated plane and continued the flight to the United States.
During the flight, passengers on the decoy plane were ordered not to open the window shades. A Secret Service agent personally monitored compliance with this requirement, and a photographer who attempted to raise a shade was immediately ordered to lower it.
According to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, the reason for the unprecedented security measures could have been intelligence about Iran’s preparation of an attack on Trump’s plane using a man-portable missile system. Details of the possible plot were not officially disclosed.
Answering a question about the safety of the people on the decoy plane, Trump stated that the military plane he was on could in fact have been in greater danger, since potential attackers might have been looking specifically for him.
Earlier it was reported about the secret plane swap and a possible Iranian threat. At that time, it was not yet known who remained on board the decoy plane and that the operation was conducted at the direct recommendation of the Secret Service and the military.
Based on materials from: CNN
