Top administration officials engaged in an elaborate deception to spirit President Trump out of Turkey during the NATO summit there last month, transporting him in a catering container to a military jet because of a threat against him and Air Force One from Iran, two senior U.S. officials said on Monday.
Mr. Trump and other officials had said publicly that he would be leaving Turkey on July 8 aboard one of the older versions of Air Force One rather than a luxury 747-8 donated by Qatar that he had flown in on. Mr. Trump told reporters at the time that he was making the switch for “old time’s sake.”
Mr. Trump boarded the older plane from the left-side door in view of cameras, and news organizations, including The New York Times, reported that he had traveled on it to Britain, where he switched back to the newer plane. The Times reported at the time that the decision was driven in part by concern about the security of the new plane donated by Qatar, which had not been equipped with all of the defensive capabilities of older versions.
But instead of flying out aboard that older, powder blue, modified 747, Mr. Trump was whisked off that plane via a catering container that had been lifted to the opposite side of the plane from where the journalists traveling with him boarded, one of the U.S. officials said. The president was then taken to a third plane, which he flew in secret to Britain, the official with knowledge of the matter said. » | Maggie Haberman, Eric Schmitt and Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Published: Monday, August 10, 2026. Updated: Tuesday, August 11, 2026
À LIRE AUSSI :
« Mission clandestine », camion de restauration et « avion-leurre » : les coulisses de la mystérieuse exfiltration de Donald Trump pour quitter la Turquie : RÉCIT - Pour échapper aux menaces iraniennes, le président des États-Unis, qui se trouvait en juillet à Ankara pour un sommet de l’Otan, aurait quitté secrètement la Turquie à bord d’un avion militaire, après avoir été exfiltré d’« Air Force One » dans un conteneur de restauration aéroportuaire, révèle le Washington Post. »
