Trump Explains Secret Plane Switch Amid Controversy Over 'Decoy' Flight

U.S. President Donald Trump has explained that his secret plane switch was a measure taken at the request of the Secret Service and the military.

According to Bloomberg, President Trump confirmed on the 11th (local time), after arriving at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C., following a business trip to Ohio, that the core of the Washington Post (WP) report from the previous day—the secret transfer—actually took place, and offered this explanation.

Previously on the 10th, the Washington Post reported exclusively that when President Trump departed Turkey on July 8th after finishing his schedule for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, he initially boarded an older Air Force One aircraft, secretly exited through the opposite door, and used a catering truck to transfer to a U.S. Air Force C-32A aircraft.

This fact had remained unknown for over a month until the WP report came out, and White House reporters accompanying the trip were also unaware of it.

President Trump stated, "They (Secret Service and military officials) wanted me to take a different flight, a different plane. The safety was the same, but they wanted it, so I did it. I do whatever they say."

Asked why the "decoy plane" operation was conducted, President Trump replied, "I think there was some kind of threat. I didn't ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats."

President Trump did not elaborate on the nature of the threat.

He also did not disclose why the military concluded that while others could safely ride the existing presidential aircraft, President Trump should not.

President Trump said, "I'm not sure. Actually, I think the plane I was on might have been in greater danger."

This secret transfer measure illustrates that the U.S. government can take exceptional steps to prepare for a potential assassination attempt against President Trump by Iran.

The aircraft involved in President Trump's trip for the NATO summit totaled three: a Boeing VC-25A aircraft primarily used as Air Force One until June of this year (hereinafter the older Air Force One); a Boeing VC-25B Bridge aircraft primarily used as Air Force One starting July of this year (hereinafter the new Air Force One); and a C-32A aircraft for "special air missions" mainly used by the Air Force for the movement of high-ranking officials such as the vice president and cabinet secretaries.

Among these, the VC-25A is a heavily modified military version of the Boeing 747-200B, the VC-25B Bridge is a heavily modified Boeing 747-8I, and the C-32A is a modified Boeing 757-200.

The designation "Air Force One" is not permanently assigned to a specific aircraft airframe, but rather refers to any aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force while the incumbent U.S. president is on board.

When the president is on board, it is also used as the aircraft's air traffic control call sign.

President Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey on July 7th aboard the new Air Force One, and after finishing his NATO summit schedule the next day, he boarded the older Air Force One in front of TV cameras.

However, he secretly exited through the opposite door of the older Air Force One and transferred to the C-32A using an airport catering truck.

The C-32A carrying President Trump flew to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom with its flight tracking signal turned off, using an ordinary call sign, "Reach 18," instead of the "Air Force One" call sign typically used for presidential aircraft.

President Trump was also filmed disembarking from the older Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall.

Before the WP report, the fact that the C-32A aircraft had become Air Force One—meaning that President Trump was on board—was unknown, and it was mistakenly believed that President Trump had traveled to the United Kingdom aboard the older Air Force One.

Reporters who boarded the older Air Force One in Ankara on July 8th were asked to pull down their window blinds before taking off to fly to the UK.

When asked that evening if they knew why they were told to lower the blinds, President Trump only answered, "Probably a dangerous flight because of the bad people we have to deal with."

According to a report by the New York Times (NYT) on the 11th, while President Trump was on board the C-32A, officials accompanying the trip remained aboard the older Air Force One.

This included high-ranking U.S. government officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, as well as military officials and reporters.

The current controversy over the secret transfer and decoy aircraft has raised questions about the White House's press handling and the appropriateness of security measures, given that the White House failed to properly disclose these measures either beforehand or afterward.

There is a precedent from 2000 when then-U.S. President Bill Clinton used a decoy aircraft to draw attention and hid his actual flight for a time to ensure personal safety during a tour of India and Pakistan, but that case differed in that the White House informed the representatives of the traveling press pool in advance and consulted with them on security measures.
 
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.