Reported by 2 sources

The short version

  • Donald Trump secretly switched from Air Force One to a C-32A amid an alleged Iranian assassination plot, leaving over 100 passengers unaware of the threat.
  • Democrats are demanding a congressional briefing, questioning why reporters and staff were kept on a plane deemed too dangerous for the president.
  • Trump defended the move as following Secret Service advice, though he claimed the alternate aircraft was actually at greater risk.

Donald Trump has confirmed that he secretly switched planes during a trip to Britain after intelligence agencies identified a credible threat that Iran plotted to kill him. The revelation has sparked intense scrutiny and calls for a congressional briefing, as critics question the safety protocols that left over 100 aides, officials, and reporters on Air Force One without warning of the danger.

According to reports from The Washington Post and The New York Times, Trump left Air Force One in a catering truck minutes after boarding. While the president was spirited away to an Air Force C-32A, more than 100 passengers remained onboard the presidential jet, flying towards Britain under the belief that Trump was still with them. Reporters were instructed to keep their window shades closed during the flight, adding to the deception.

News Journal

Trump addressed the incident on Tuesday, confirming the secret switch but asserting that he followed the advice of security experts. “Well, it’s only up to Secret Service. I just follow what they’d like to do, so I go by Secret Service and the military,” Trump told reporters. However, he added a controversial claim that the plane he ultimately flew on was at greater risk than Air Force One, suggesting that attackers would be more likely to target the aircraft carrying him.

The operation has been described as “unprecedented and surreal” by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He argued that the incident raises serious questions about the safety of those left behind. “I want to know what precautions were taken to make sure that all the passengers on that Air Force One, which was judged too dangerous for the president to fly on, what precautions were taken to keep the staff and reporters on that plane safe?” Blumenthal asked during an appearance on CNN.

Steven Cash, executive director of the Steady State and a former CIA intelligence officer, criticized the strategy. He suggested that the approach appeared to use the passengers as decoys. “It appears that the idea was we can reduce the danger to President Trump by offering up 100 or so people to be killed by the Iranians in his place,” Cash said.

The White House had publicly stated that the president would fly to Britain on an older version of Air Force One, rather than the new Qatari-gifted aircraft. In reality, Trump boarded the jet in full view of television cameras before being transferred to the C-32A. The C-32A arrived at RAF Mildenhall in Britain at approximately 10:20 pm, with the older Air Force One and the traveling press pool arriving minutes later.

Photographers subsequently captured Trump descending from the aircraft, revealing the switch to the public. The elaborate nature of the deception meant that journalists and some White House staff believed Trump remained on Air Force One throughout the flight. This has led to widespread debate about transparency and the ethical implications of keeping passengers in the dark during a security threat.

Democrats are now pushing for a detailed congressional briefing to understand the full scope of the threat and the decision-making process behind the plane switch. They argue that the safety of all passengers, not just the president, must be prioritized. The incident highlights the complex challenges of protecting high-profile figures while maintaining operational security.

As the debate continues, questions remain about how such a significant security breach was managed and whether similar protocols could be improved in the future. The White House has not provided further details on the specific nature of the Iranian threat or the exact timeline of the decision to switch planes.

Sources behind this briefing

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