{"id":681993,"date":"2026-07-09T08:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681993\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:51:15","slug":"trump-explains-why-he-switched-back-to-old-air-force-one-from-qatari-gifted-jet-after-leaving-nato-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/681993\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump explains why he switched back to old Air Force One from Qatari-gifted jet after leaving NATO summit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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President Donald Trump<\/a> has explained why he switched back to the old Air Force One rather than flying in the Qatari-gifted jet <\/a>amid scrutiny over security concerns.<\/p>\n

Trump told reporters Wednesday he was taking the older plane home \u201cfor old time\u2019s sake\u201d while the $400 million jet tours an air force base housing U.S. troops.<\/p>\n

When asked later Wednesday en route to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after leaving this week\u2019s NATO summit<\/a> in Ankara, Turkey, about a potential security concern that could have caused the switch, the president denied there was one. <\/p>\n

One reporter then asked why they were told to close their window blinds on the plane, and Trump said, \u201cBecause you\u2019re probably on a dangerous flight,\u201d seemingly alluding to perceived threats from Iran. <\/p>\n

When asked if he was aware of any credible threat by Iran against Air Force One, Trump said, \u201cWell, I have a threat all the time. I\u2019m No. 1 on their list, before you. But if I go, you go. Perhaps someday you want to change professions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DonaldDonald Trump, seen on a newly retrofitted Boeing jet gifted by Qatar, is took the older Air Force One back to the U.S. after leaving a NATO summit in Turkey amid questions about the new craft\u2019s security systems (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Despite Trump downplaying any safety concerns with the Qatar-gifted jet, people familiar with the matter told The New York Times <\/a>he swapped planes as a security precaution related to resumed hostilities with Iran at the urging of the Secret Service.<\/p>\n

The Independent has reached out to the White House and the Secret Service for comment. <\/p>\n

The newly acquired jet is not equipped with at least some of the same missile detection and countermeasures systems as its predecessor, according to images reviewed by the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

The swap followed a fresh round of retaliatory U.S. strikes in Iran<\/a>, which shares a border with Turkey, after the president declared that what remains of a fragile ceasefire in the months-long war is \u201cover.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a press conference in Ankara <\/a>earlier Wednesday, Trump again said he was at the top of Iran\u2019s kill list. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really care because I\u2019m doing my job \u2026 But I\u2019m No. 1 on the list for killing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

In a statement to The Independent, White House communications director Steven Cheung said the new jet is a \u201cstate-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

\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\u2014 including distraction and misdirection\u2014 to address those threats,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"TrumpTrump repeatedly said Iran was trying to kill him before boarding the older Boeing Air Force One jet (Getty)<\/p>\n

The president repeatedly stated throughout his remarks at the NATO summit that he believed Iran was trying to assassinate him.<\/p>\n

In 2020, Trump launched an airstrike near Baghdad International Airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the elite Quds Force with Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards Corps, after he had survived several assassination attempts from western, Israeli and Arab states over the past two decades.<\/p>\n

The strike, which was planned over several months, ignited fierce blowback across the region<\/a>, denounced by Iran\u2019s foreign minister at the time as an act of international terrorism. By 2024, U.S. intelligence officials had reportedly collected evidence they believe shows Tehran was seeking ways to kill then-candidate Trump.<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors later announced charges against at least two other men accused of trying to carry out murder-for-hire plots targeting U.S. government officials, including Trump.<\/p>\n

Last year, Trump said Iran would be \u201cobliterated\u201d if he was assassinated by state actors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be a terrible thing for them to do,\u201d he told reporters in February 2025. \u201cNot because of me. If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I\u2019ve left instructions: if they do it, they get obliterated. There won\u2019t be anything left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe newly unveiled jet, ostensibly a gift from Qatar, received $400 million in improvements (Karoline Leavitt)<\/p>\n

In his remarks to NATO, Trump recounted the toll of U.S. strikes in Iran over the last several months before adding that he also might be \u201cgone\u201d if the war continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had leaders. They\u2019re gone, and they had another set of leaders. They\u2019re gone,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow they have another set of leaders, they may be gone, who knows, and you know what, I may be gone too, because I\u2019m their No. 1 target,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

As he prepared for his departure from Turkey, Trump boarded an older Boeing VC-25A that has carried presidents for nearly four decades.<\/p>\n

The plane donated by Qatar, a Boeing 747 retrofitted with $400 million in improvements, is decked out with Trump\u2019s signature color scheme \u2014 navy blue with red and gold stripes \u2014 as well as plush carpets, wood paneling and details including the presidential seal on seatbelts.<\/p>\n

\"CriticsCritics have raised alarms over potential ethics concerns and counterintelligence vulnerabilities with the new jet (Steven Cheung)<\/p>\n

According to the White House, the plane is \u201csafe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose requirements were carefully crafted to prioritize mission over aesthetics, leaving much of the previous head of state interior layout minimally changed,\u201d according to a press release about the updates. \u201cNo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The aircraft is ostensibly a temporary placeholder between the president\u2019s older model Boeing fleet and newer planes that aren\u2019t expected to be ready until the end of Trump\u2019s term, at the earliest.<\/p>\n

But Trump intends to keep the plane after he leaves office \u2014 inside his planned presidential library.<\/p>\n

The president has acknowledged that getting the jet into the lobby of a hotel-like skyscraper in Miami is going to be a \u201ctrick.\u201d That\u2019s even if the plan survives scrutiny from Democratic members of Congress mulling investigations after the president\u2019s acceptance of the plan sounded ethical, legal, security and counterintelligence alarms.<\/p>\n

Rachel Dobkin contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[227648,1487,6494,230,195551,49,11237,151,32798,50,6487,229,84397,20438,51,47,52,48,227647,39367,659],"class_list":["post-681993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-ankara-turkey","tag-asia","tag-color-image","tag-diplomacy","tag-donald-trump-us-president","tag-headlines","tag-horizontal","tag-military","tag-nato-summit","tag-news","tag-photography","tag-politics","tag-politics-and-government","tag-press-conference","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-turkiye-country","tag-us-president","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}