The Washington Post reported Tuesday that an Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump prompted U.S. officials to secretly move him onto a smaller military aircraft during a trip to Turkey last month, even as the White House publicly maintained that he had departed aboard the traditional Air Force One.
According to The Post, the previously undisclosed operation unfolded after a NATO summit in Ankara and was designed to conceal Trump’s actual location amid intelligence indicating a specific threat against the president or his aircraft.
Trump publicly boarded the familiar blue-and-white Boeing 747 on July 8 in view of television cameras. But The Post reported that he was later moved out of sight through an airport catering truck and transferred to an Air Force C-32A, while journalists and some White House staff continued aboard the larger plane believing Trump was with them.
The smaller aircraft flew under the routine military call sign “Reach 18” or “RCH18,” further obscuring Trump’s presence. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also traveled aboard the plane.
The episode occurred one night after U.S. forces carried out renewed strikes against Iran at Trump’s direction and amid longstanding concerns that Tehran could attempt to assassinate Trump or other American officials.
The White House has continued to publicly state that Trump left Turkey aboard the legacy Air Force One.
After outlet presented its findings to the administration, White House communications director Steven Cheung stressed the security measures surrounding presidential travel.
“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.”
Ronald L. Rowe Jr., a former acting Secret Service director, defended keeping presidential protection procedures secret.
“We need to keep the ‘secret’ in Secret Service,” Rowe said. “The public should know what the president is doing on a daily basis, but when it comes to the methods by which the Secret Service keeps the president safe, that should remain out of public view.”
Trump later acknowledged that his traveling party had faced danger but did not disclose the aircraft switch. Asked why reporters had been instructed to close their window shades, Trump said it was “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”
He added that he was “number one” on Iran’s threat list before joking with reporters: “But if I go, you go. Right?” he told the reporters. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions.”
