Trump’s secret plane switch came as Iran plotted possible missile attack

A hidden escape, a catering truck and a very real threat

The extraordinary deception at the NATO summit in Ankara reportedly happened within a day of US and Turkish intelligence detecting what officials described as a credible Iranian plot to fire a surface-to-air missile at the presidential aircraft.

According to CBS News, the CIA, National Security Agency and Turkey’s MIT intelligence service picked up intelligence suggesting Iran was preparing an attack on Air Force One as Trump prepared to leave Turkey on July 8.

The catering truck trick

What followed sounds almost like something from a Hollywood thriller.

Trump had publicly indicated that he would fly home aboard the older Air Force One, joking that he wanted to use it “for old time’s sake.” Cameras duly captured him boarding the aircraft.

But that was apparently the deception.

A catering truck pulled up alongside the aircraft, and Trump and several senior aides climbed aboard. The truck then drove away from the plane and took them to an Air Force C-32A — a far less obvious presidential aircraft — which flew Trump to a UK military base.

Meanwhile, the aircraft publicly identified as Air Force One departed Turkey carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, other officials and members of the press corps.

In other words, the world was watching the wrong plane.

Iranian missile team reportedly suspected

The intelligence was apparently serious enough to trigger the extraordinary operation.

US officials told CBS that intelligence indicated there could be a team inside Turkey tasked with firing a surface-to-air missile at the presidential aircraft.

However, subsequent intelligence searches failed to locate such a team.

That distinction is important: officials are describing a credible threat, not claiming that an Iranian missile team was actually discovered preparing to fire.

Trump says Iran wants him dead

The threat is particularly significant because US officials say Iran continues to pose a serious threat to Trump's life as the war approaches its six-month mark.

Trump himself has acknowledged the danger, previously describing himself as “number one on the kill list for Iran.”

Asked by CBS why he had been moved to another aircraft while reporters and senior officials remained aboard the apparent Air Force One, Trump said the plane he ultimately used may actually have been at greater risk.

He also insisted he was not particularly worried.

“I have a lot of threats,” Trump said. “Any consequential president has a lot of threats.”

The public saw one plane. Trump was on another.

The most extraordinary part may be how successfully the deception worked.

Even some White House personnel and journalists apparently did not know Trump had left the old Air Force One. Rubio and Bessent were aware of the arrangement, but others aboard the decoy aircraft were reportedly not.

Trump eventually transferred back to the new Qatar-donated Air Force One in Britain for the flight to Washington.

So what initially looked like an eccentric presidential decision to secretly swap aircraft now appears to have been something considerably more serious:

American and Turkish intelligence had picked up information suggesting Iran might try to shoot down the aircraft carrying the US president — and Trump was quietly taken off it while everyone was encouraged to believe he was still aboard.

That catering truck suddenly looks rather less funny.

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I hate it when they remake the original. The original air traffic controller sniffed glue and the closeted gay pilot asked Little Timmy if he liked gladiator movies.

But I liked the throttling. I think most Americans want to do that to Trump supporters. 😄