As Trump prepared to leave a NATO summit in Ankara on July 8, 2026, he and a few aides secretly left the legacy Air Force One and flew to Britain on a smaller Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757, according to the Washington Post, which first reported the operation in August. The Post and CBS News reported that Trump boarded the older 747 in view of cameras, then stepped into an airport catering truck lifted to a door on the far side of the plane and was driven across the tarmac. Reporters and some White House staff flew to RAF Mildenhall on the 747 believing he was aboard, and were told to keep their window shades down. ABC News reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were on the decoy plane and knew of the switch.
CBS News reported that U.S. intelligence had detected a credible plot to fire a missile at Trump's plane as he left Ankara, and a senior administration official told ABC News the decision was driven by intelligence that an Iranian cell had brought a shoulder-fired missile into Turkey. The Washington Post later reported, citing current and former U.S. officials, that the threat was relayed to the CIA by Israel and that agency analysts viewed it as low confidence; one official called it “Israeli-derived, not U.S.-generated, and viewed as low confidence.” A U.S. official told the Post the Secret Service acted out of an abundance of caution.
The administration never publicly disclosed that the press and some staff were flying on a decoy plane. White House communications director Steven Cheung did not answer questions about the switch directly, saying, “there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.” Trump said the Secret Service made the call: “It's really just up to Secret Service. I just follow what they like to do.” Asked why it was too dangerous for him to fly on Air Force One but not for staff and press, he said, “I think, actually, the plane that I flew on was at greater risk.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional briefing. The episode came during the U.S. war with Iran (see Trump Launches a War With Iran Without Congressional Approval, Killing the Supreme Leader, Bombing a School Full of Children, and Triggering a Regional War).
Correction (October 2, 2026): An earlier version stated as fact that U.S. intelligence detected a credible Iranian plot, and said the press and staff were put on “the aircraft the threat was aimed at.” CBS did report a credible plot, but the Washington Post later reported that the warning came from Israel and that CIA analysts gave it low confidence, and Trump has said his own plane was at greater risk. The entry now reports both accounts and no longer says which plane the threat targeted.