President Donald Trump secretly boarded a third, smaller U.S. military aircraft using an airport catering truck as cover to depart the NATO summit in Turkey in July while using an older Air Force One jet as a decoy, according to reports.
Citing an official and other material it reviewed, The Washington Post reported that the undercover maneuver took place at Ankara airport amid a credible Iranian threat against the president.
Trump had arrived in the Turkish capital on July 8 aboard a brand-new Boeing 747-8, an aircraft donated by Qatar.
Following U.S. military strikes against Iranian targets earlier in the summer, intelligence officials identified a specific threat from Iran targeting the president's movements.
To counter the threat, U.S. security officials executed a ruse on the Turkish tarmac, according to the outlet.
Trump walked up the stairs of the legacy blue-and-white Boeing 747 — the older Air Force One — and waved to news cameras before entering the cabin.
Minutes later, Trump and a small team of aides were said to have stepped out of view into an airport catering truck that had been lifted to an exit door on the far side of the plane.
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The truck lowered to ground level and drove across the tarmac to a nearby Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757.
Meanwhile, the media and White House staff boarded the older 747, believing Trump was inside.
Reporters were then instructed to close their window shades for takeoff, and the jet took off as a decoy, according to the Washington Post.
The legacy jet initially appeared on radar without a call sign before taking the ‘AF1’ call sign midflight, despite Trump not being aboard, according to flight-tracking data reviewed by the outlet.
Trump then flew in secrecy aboard the smaller C-32A to RAF Mildenhall in England, landing shortly before the decoy jet.
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It is unclear how Trump transferred from the C-32A to the legacy Air Force One after landing in the U.K.
At about 10:56 p.m., he appeared before TV cameras and descended the legacy aircraft’s external stairs, according to a media pool report.
Trump boarded the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 for the return flight to Washington at about 11:01 p.m. Staff and reporters also transferred from the legacy aircraft before departing.
Reporters asked the president about why the window shades were ordered down in Turkey. Trump told them: "You're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with."
The president added that he faces threats constantly and is "Number One" on Iran's target list.
When reached by Fox News for comment on the Washington Post's reporting, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the new Air Force One is a "state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff."
He added: "As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats."
The U.S. Air Force similarly touted the new Air Force One jet's safety.
"The aircraft is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission," the Air Force said in a statement to Fox News. "Those requirements were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed. No risk was taken in security, safety or mission communications, but the collective team made trades on some of the less commonly used mission sets that Boeing must deliver to support the next 40 years."
Fox News also reached out to the U.S. Secret Service for comment.
Fox News' Pat Ward contributed to this report.
