President offers first public account of covert Turkey departure, downplays risks to officials and journalists who remained aboard Air Force One
BY Saqib S. Qureshi I SCN
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he flew home from a NATO summit in Turkey last month on a different aircraft at the direction of the Secret Service because of a threat against him, offering his first public account of the covert operation and playing down concerns about the officials and journalists who remained aboard Air Force One.
“I go by Secret Service and the military,” Trump told reporters Tuesday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “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’s remarks provided the clearest explanation yet of why he secretly left Air Force One after publicly boarding the presidential jet for the flight home from Turkey.
Under the security plan, Trump was quietly taken off Air Force One and transported across the airport in a catering vehicle before boarding a different U.S. military aircraft.
Air Force One departed separately with senior administration officials, White House staff and members of the traveling press corps aboard.
The unusual maneuver was intended to conceal the president’s movements amid concerns about a threat against him.
Trump on Tuesday sought to dispel the impression that he had been moved to a safer aircraft while others were left behind on a plane being used as a diversion.
He said the aircraft were of comparable safety and suggested the smaller plane carrying him could have faced greater risk.
“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump said.
Air Force One has extensive communications and defensive capabilities specifically designed for presidential travel, making the security calculation more complicated than simply moving Trump from a dangerous aircraft to a safer one.
Trump portrayed the decision as one made on the advice of the professionals responsible for his security.
His account also underscored the secrecy surrounding the operation.
Many of the people who continued aboard Air Force One did not know Trump had switched aircraft, according to reports on the operation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were among the senior administration officials who remained on the presidential jet.
The White House has not publicly disclosed the full intelligence assessment behind the threat, and key details of presidential protection operations are typically kept closely held.
Trump’s comments nevertheless answer one of the central questions raised after the operation became public: why the president agreed to abandon his usual aircraft during an overseas trip.
According to Trump, the Secret Service and military wanted him to travel differently because of the threat, and he deferred to their judgment.
The episode offers a rare glimpse into the security measures surrounding presidential travel when officials believe a threat may require concealing the commander in chief’s actual movements.
It has also drawn scrutiny because the deception extended beyond potential adversaries: officials, staff and journalists continued their journey aboard Air Force One while Trump was secretly traveling on another aircraft.
Trump, however, made clear Tuesday that he did not view that arrangement as leaving them on an unprotected plane while he escaped danger.
His explanation was simpler: the Secret Service wanted him on another plane, and the president followed its direction.