The Post cited material reviewed by the newspaper, a US official familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president\u2019s travel. The Associated Press has not independently confirmed the report.<\/p>\n
Trump had flown to the summit in a new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet. But ahead of departing T\u00fcrkiye, he said he would fly partway home on an older-model baby blue Air Force One plane instead.<\/p>\n
The president at the time said the new luxury jet was being flown out ahead of his departure from Ankara to give some US troops based in eastern England a chance to check out the new Air Force One.<\/p>\n
In Ankara, Trump boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras ahead of the plane flying to Royal Air Force Mildenhall in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
However, according to the Post report, after boarding the legacy Air Force One jet, he was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane \u2014 an Air Force C-32A \u2014 via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies. Trump flew to Mildenhall on that smaller jet.<\/p>\n
The White House did not respond directly to questions about the Post report of the secret operation to whisk Trump out of the country on a third aircraft, or the reported elaborate ruse to make it appear he was on the baby blue Air Force One jet flying to Mildenhall.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs 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,\u201d White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The US Secret Service declined to comment. The Air Force, which maintains the fleet of executive travel aircraft, referred questions to the White House.<\/p>\n
There have been questions about the safety of the new Qatari-gifted plane<\/p>\n
![\"Catering](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/catering-trucks-are-parked-at-air-force-one-on-the-tarmac-as-A6662Q53CBDQ3NKMXOVYAMDTFQ.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Catering trucks are parked at Air Force One on the tarmac as the motorcade carrying US President Donald Trump arrives on the tarmac to depart following the NATO summit at Ankara International Airport in Ankara. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
While Trump was in T\u00fcrkiye, the US military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran in retaliation for its attacks on merchant shipping in the region.<\/p>\n
The New York Times and CBS News reported last month that intelligence officials had raised concerns about a potential attack on the president or his jet, triggering additional precautions and the decision not to use the newly inaugurated aircraft gifted to Trump by Qatar for the first leg of Trump\u2019s trip home from Ankara.<\/p>\n
The swap had spurred questions about the security of the Qatar-provided aircraft, and Trump said last month after the trip that it would undergo additional upgrades.<\/p>\n
Cheung on Monday (local time) maintained that the new, Qatari-gifted plane was \u201ca state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff\u201d.<\/p>\n
The new Post report on clandestinely putting Trump on a third aircraft and quietly whisking him out of the country adds a fresh layer to just how seriously concerned US security officials were about the threat against Trump during the ongoing war with Iran.<\/p>\n