Trump Left Press and Aides on Air Force One, Slipped Away in Catering Truck After NATO Summit in Ankara

American news outlets have confirmed that President Donald Trump left travelling journalists and even some White House officials believing he was aboard Air Force One as it departed Turkey on July 8, 2026 when in fact he had been quietly transferred, via a catering truck, onto a separate, smaller military aircraft. The elaborate switch, carried out at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport immediately after the NATO leaders’ summit, and was reportedly ordered as a security precaution against an assassination threat from Iran.

How the Ruse Unfolded
Trump had flown into Ankara for the July 7–8 NATO summit aboard a newly retrofitted, Qatari-donated Air Force One, making its first international outing for the American president. Hours before his scheduled departure, Trump announced he would instead fly partway home on the older-model "baby blue" Air Force One, explaining the switch as being done "for old time's sake" and to let U.S. troops stationed in the United Kingdom get a look at the new jet when it flew in separately.

Television cameras captured Trump boarding the older presidential jumbo jet in full public view. But according to reporting citing a U.S. official and other people familiar with the operation, he was subsequently moved off that aircraft and transferred to a catering cart of the kind normally used to load food and beverages onto planes. The cart carried him across the tarmac to a smaller government aircraft reported to be an Air Force C-32A which then departed separately for a refueling stop in the United Kingdom.

Members of the travelling press pool, and reportedly some White House staff believed to be aboard the same aircraft as the president, had no knowledge the switch had taken place. Pool reports at the time noted Trump was aboard the older Air Force One as of 8:26 p.m. local time, with the plane wheels-up seventeen minutes later and that journalists in the press cabin were instructed to keep their window shades closed, an unusual directive that struck reporters present as a sign something out of the ordinary was underway. Asked afterward why the shades needed to stay closed, Trump told reporters it was "because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags that we have to deal with".

A Threat From Iran
The operation was reportedly prompted by an assassination threat against Trump linked to Iran, whose border lies close to Turkey and with which hostilities had escalated in the period surrounding the summit. Secret Service officials had reportedly advised the president to depart Turkey aboard the older Air Force One rather than the newer Qatari-gifted plane, a recommendation made on security grounds.

Trump eventually reunited publicly with the newer aircraft at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, in eastern England, where he was seen switching planes for the final leg of the journey back to Washington, and where he later spoke to members of the press as the flight crossed the Atlantic.

Questions Over the New Air Force One
The switch also drew renewed attention to the Qatari-donated jet itself. The aircraft, gifted to the United States and rapidly retrofitted for use as the new presidential plane, had its costs and security arrangements questioned even before the Ankara trip, which marked its first international flight carrying the president. That the administration chose to route Trump home on the older jet while quietly moving him to a third aircraft altogether has added to scrutiny of how the new plane's rollout has been handled.

Neither the Associated Press nor other outlets have independently verified every detail of the operation, though multiple U.S. networks including CBS News, CNN, and ABC News have reported the account consistent with an original investigation, citing officials and documentation reviewed on the matter. The episode underscores how closely the White House is now managing the optics and secrecy of presidential travel amid what officials describe as heightened, specific threats against the president following the Ankara summit.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.
International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP
mustysallama@gmail.com
+233-555-275-880

References
Times of Israel "Amid Iran threat in Turkey, Trump was secretly spirited off Air Force One in catering truck report," https://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-iran-threat-in-turkey-trump-was-secretly-spirited-off-air-force-one-in-catering-truck-report/

CBS News "Trump secretly switched to different plane in Turkey amid Iran missile threat," https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-secretly-switched-plane-turkey-air-force-one-iran-war-threat/

ABC News "Trump reportedly used a catering truck to sneak off Air Force One amid Iranian threats," https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-reportedly-catering-truck-sneak-off-air-force/story?id=135534078

13News Now "Trump used ruse with catering truck, decoy Air Force One to depart Turkey after NATO summit, report says," https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-air-force-one-ruse-nato-summit-catering-truck/507-44186475-c8bf-4c87-881a-be4d53e768e8

CNN "Trump secretly switched planes in Turkey amid security concerns, official says," https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/10/politics/trump-secretly-transferred-planes-security-concerns-af1

Times of Israel "Amid Iran threat in Turkey, Trump was secretly spirited off Air Force One in catering truck report," https://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-iran-threat-in-turkey-trump-was-secretly-spirited-off-air-force-one-in-catering-truck-report/

CBS News "Trump secretly switched to different plane in Turkey amid Iran missile threat," https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-secretly-switched-plane-turkey-air-force-one-iran-war-threat/

CBS News "Trump secretly switched to different plane in Turkey amid Iran missile threat," https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-secretly-switched-plane-turkey-air-force-one-iran-war-threat/

13News Now "Trump used ruse with catering truck, decoy Air Force One to depart Turkey after NATO summit, report says," https://www.13newsnow.com/article/news/nation-world/trump-air-force-one-ruse-nato-summit-catering-truck/507-44186475-c8bf-4c87-881a-be4d53e768e8

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