Donald Trump seemingly acknowledged that a flare-up of hostilities with Iran led to him and top administration officials taking the old Air Force One out of Turkey on Wednesday.
Trump had claimed on social media that he would be taking the plane previously used as Air Force One out of the country “for old time’s sake” so that U.S. troops in England could “tour” the newer one.
The change raised eyebrows, given Trump flew to Turkey on the $400 million Qatari-gifted aircraft that he has spoken fondly of since launching it last week. The trip was its first time overseas while carrying Trump.
Yet despite Trump’s earlier Truth Social decree, when grilled by reporters about the change on board, Trump acknowledged that they were on a ”dangerous flight."
When it was time to leave Turkey, Trump boarded the plane “unusually quickly,” the New York Times reported. When on board later, Trump was asked about why window blinds had to be pulled down before takeoff, which is a security measure.
While he initially tried to play down the switch and any security concerns, he then suddenly told the press pool: “Because you’re, you know, probably on a dangerous flight, because of the sleazebags that we have to deal with.”
A reporter followed up by asking about whether Iran was considering targeting him.
“Well,” Trump replied, “I mean if they ask you to close your windows, probably they feel that way. They didn’t ask me to close mine, but if they did, I would have done it. These are sick people, so I could see something like that. I didn’t know they did that, but I could see something.”
The Secret Service, the Times also reported, urged Trump not to fly out of Turkey in the newer luxury jet due to security concerns.
MS NOW similarly reported that concerns over the Qatari-gifted plane’s lack of military defenses and communications systems during the Iran conflict prompted the president’s change of travel plans. For instance, a law enforcement official told the outlet that the new plane cannot refuel mid-air.
“This plane was built for aesthetics, not mission,” a former national security official explained. “We know about its paint, its leather seats. But we don’t know its capabilities.”
While Trump was in Turkey for the NATO summit, U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran. CENTCOM said forces struck “approximately 90 Iranian military targets including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.”
Trump on Wednesday called the ceasefire “over.”
When reached for comment, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told PBS that “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.”
Cheung added: “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 — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats."
The Daily Beast has also contacted the White House for comment. The Secret Service did not immediately respond.
Trump later posted on Truth Social about arriving in England beside the newer plane, but made no reference to the apparent threat.
“They were very excited, picture enclosed,” Trump, 80, wrote. “It was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.”
The last-minute change in aircraft is likely to amplify concerns about whether the newer plane is secure enough to transport the president around the globe, including close to war zones. Trump had wanted the plane to be ready as soon as possible. The $400 million aircraft was rolled out last Wednesday, at which time Trump declared it to be “appropriate for a president.”
“That means the security and all of the different bells and whistles they put on,” he told reporters before flying to North Dakota.
The plane switch, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins said later Wednesday, was “bizarre.” New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman added it was “a little hard to believe” that showing off the new plane to troops was the sole reason for the change to the older one.
“It does raise questions about... how equipped it is with the kind of defense systems that the current Air Force One is. This plane was rushed into circulation because President Trump wanted to fly on a new Air Force One, because the two that he had commissioned during his first term weren‘t going to be ready for a variety of reasons,” Haberman said.
In her and colleague Jonathan Swan’s reporting, she continued, “Lots of people told us they could not imagine a scenario where it could properly be fitted with its defense capabilities in time to protect a president—to do what Air Force One has to do."
“And so my question is, despite the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that were already spent to retrofit this plane for security, what remains?”
