Trump says Air Force One ruse was Secret Service, military call

President Donald Trump deflected criticisms about a decision to secretly fly him out of Turkey on a different aircraft while the White House indicated he was aboard Air Force One, saying the Secret Service and military demanded it in response to unspecified safety threats.

“They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” Trump told reporters on Aug 11 after deplaning Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington while returning from Ohio.

The elaborate manoeuvre, first reported by the Washington Post, was prompted by an Iranian assassination threat against Trump.

The deception was carried out as journalists, White House staff members and other government officials aboard Air Force One were given the impression Trump was flying with them back to the US from a NATO summit in Ankara.

Asked why, the President replied: “I guess there was a threat out there, I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.”

Trump confirmed he covertly switched planes upon his departure from Turkey. But he declined to elaborate on the nature of the threat, nor did he explain why the military thought it was safe for others to fly on the regular presidential aircraft, but not him.

“I don’t know, I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” hesaid.

The incident showed the lengths the US government is willing to go to protect the president from Iranian attempts on his life, as the US war against Iran stretches into its sixth month.

It also marked an extraordinary breach in protocol, as the White House misled the public about the president’s whereabouts.

The Post cited materials it reviewed as well as a US official and another person familiar with the matter who it said spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to reveal the scheme.

Bloomberg has not confirmed the details of the Post report.

Trump flew to the summit in the Qatari-gifted, Boeing luxury jumbo jet that is serving as a temporary presidential aircraft.

But upon departing Turkey, Trump said he would travel to a refuelling stop aboard the old Air Force One plane so that troops based in England could view the new one.

That never happened. In view of television cameras in Ankara, Trump boarded the old Air Force One jet. But according to the Post, after entering the aircraft, Trump disembarked on the other side of the aircraft and was taken by an airport catering truck to a smaller Air Force C-32A. He then flew to England on that plane instead.

The White House earlier declined to confirm details when asked about the Post report.

“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. 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,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said late on Aug 10 in a statement.

While Trump was in Turkey, the US carried out strikes against Iran after Iranian forces attacked shipping around the Strait of Hormuz.

The New York Times reported in July that security officials raised concerns about a possible attack against the president, which triggered the move from the new plane to the old one for the return flight to the US.

That change prompted questions about whether the Qatari-gifted plane has the proper security features to protect the president. The Trump administration issued subpoenas to Times reporters in an effort to find who revealed that information, but eventually withdrew them.

The president has said the plane would undergo more upgrades.

The US Air Force said in a statement that the new Air Force One “is safe, secure and equipped with the most advanced technologies necessary to meet the requirements of the presidential mission” and that “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”.

The Post report raised questions about the nature of the threat against the president, and why officials thought it appropriate to effectively use the older Air Force One jet as a decoy with people on board.

For decades, the White House press pool has travelled with the president. It is a rotating group of journalists that report on the president’s movements and whereabouts on behalf of the entire press corps.

The set-up is designed to ensure the public has an independent account of the president’s activities, and to be nearby in moments of crisis.

In 2000, then president Bill Clinton clandestinely flew on an unmarked plane from India and Pakistan due to security risks, while others travelled on the traditional Air Force One.

But unlike Trump’s gambit, a small group of White House reporters at the time were briefed ahead of time on the operation, the Post reported.

“I have a lot of threats,” Trump said late on Aug 11. “I have a lot of threats that you don’t know about.” BLOOMBERG