Sitting Decoys

President Donald Trump secretly slipped out of Turkey last month on an alternate military plane, which he boarded while hidden inside a catering truck, as part of an elaborate ruse prompted by an Iranian threat, according to a US official.

The clandestine security plan — first reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by CNN — underscored the lengths American officials went to in order to protect Trump from being assassinated by Iran. Addressing a question about the ploy Tuesday, Trump said he followed the advice of the Secret Service and the military.

“I just follow what they’d like to do. So I go by Secret Service. And the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” Trump said, adding, “I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”

Trump had flown to Turkey on a new plane gifted by Qatar and meant to be used as Air Force One. But while he was on the trip, officials announced he would fly out on an older presidential plane, which CNN and others had previously reported was due to security concerns.

That, though, was apparently part of the subterfuge. After boarding the older aircraft, a moment caught on camera, Trump secretly got off via the catering vehicle and moved to a smaller Air Force C-32A. The Qatari-gifted plane, the older aircraft used as Air Force One and the C-32A then all departed separately for the UK. Once there, Trump got on board the Qatari-gifted plane and flew home.

For the last month, much of the public discussion about the plane swap had been centered on the security capabilities of the Qatari-donated plane. Trump had boasted about the new aircraft — even though officials felt it was not as secure as other planes because it had to be retrofitted to serve as Air Force One — and the president seethed privately over coverage of its deficiencies, CNN previously reported.

Now, attention has shifted to reporters and staffers unknowingly flying on a decoy plane — and the nature of the threat that prompted such dramatic security measures. A US official said at least two Cabinet secretaries – Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent – stayed behind on the older presidential aircraft that departed Turkey without Trump aboard.

Trump said Tuesday night that a plane he was on was more likely to be targeted, and that he faced threats that the public does not know about. “The plane that I flew on was at greater risk … Because that would be the plane, I think, that they would be more likely to go for,” he said.

by Kevin Liptak, Alejandra Jaramillo, and Donald Judd, CNN |  Read more:

Image: Doug Mills/The New York Times/Redux
[ed. Well, there goes that strategy. Wonder if he would've left Melania on the decoy plane (c'mon... of course, you know he would). See also: After Trump plane ruse, WHCA presses White House on press pool safeguards (CNN).]