Trump says security threat spurred secret plane swap in Turkey

Donald TrumpTrump says security threat spurred secret plane swap in TurkeyThe president spoke for the first time about a previously undisclosed flight after the NATO summit in July.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00President Donald Trump talks to reporters after having arrived on Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Tuesday. Mark Schiefelbein / APShareAdd NBC News to GoogleAug. 11, 2026, 11:10 PM EDTBy Raquel Coronell UribePresident Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday night that he secretly switched planes when he traveled back from Turkey in July, saying a security threat prompted the clandestine maneuver. Trump told reporters that the “Secret Service and the military” made the decision. “They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane,” he said. “I guess there was a threat out there.”NBC News previously confirmed The Washington Post’s reporting that Trump surreptitiously moved to an unmarked jet using a catering truck on July 8 after having boarded Air Force One in front of cameras. He flew on the jet from Ankara to a base in the United Kingdom, while reporters and White House staff members believed he was on board Air Force One.“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk. I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for,” Trump said Tuesday.He did not elaborate on why the unmarked C-32 jet he boarded, whose call sign was not marked as Air Force One, made it a likelier target.Add NBC News to GoogleSecret Service operation to swap Trump’s planes amid Iran threat02:35NBC News also reported that the plane switch came, according to a U.S. official, amid a fresh Iranian plot to kill Trump, possibly involving a shoulder-fired missile aimed at Air Force One as it departed Turkey. Those left behind on the decoy plane included members of the media and senior White House staff members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bess...