President Donald Trump pulled off a sneaky switch out from Air Force One amid safety concerns, but couldn’t dodge the internet’s wrath.
The 80-year-old president got brutally skewered on social media after The Washington Post revealed that he made a secret flight switch during his return trip from Turkey last month, leaving reporters and White House staff members onboard Air Force One amid threats from Iran.
The White House carried out an elaborate ruse to make it look as though Trump left Ankara aboard Air Force One, when he actually used a catering truck to sneak off to an alternate military aircraft in the face of a credible Iranian assassination threat, insiders told the outlet.
Though the administration pulled off the maneuver and managed to keep it under wraps for weeks, X users weren’t just going to let it slide.
Several social media users had a field day over the bombshell report, using AI to generate images that depict Trump in bizarre conditions inside the catering truck.
Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of the news outlet MeidasTouch, mockingly presented an AI-generated image of Trump as an exclusive news item.
![Ron Filipkowski on X [AI-generated]](https://www.thedailybeast.com/resizer/v2/XROQP5HDJRHABKJW32QGG3GTPA.png?auth=c23ddc727242dd74468b91c4cb9c6a2e2e69ad173426781d46c731d504a7ec0b&width=800&height=708)
“🚨🚨🚨EXCLUSIVE. Meidas has obtained footage of Trump hiding in the catering truck while switching planes,” he wrote, attaching a photo showing the president crouched down inside a truck as various McDonald’s menu items were scattered around him.
Another X user who states in their bio that they are “not a Republican any longer” used AI to illustrate an even more bonkers scenario: Trump squeezed inside an airplane service cart, holding a pointer finger up to his mouth. A similar scene was posted by a different user.
![@dandersen9465 on X [AI-generated]](https://www.thedailybeast.com/resizer/v2/CJJQQHBLCJHHNMTU7JEW2Z4TP4.png?auth=671d23b1fcc85413b3e016bc71e6bb97867e63caf6582e6ee157436b19cc4b5d&width=800&height=838)
Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor of Inside Elections, poked fun at Trump’s ruse by posting an image of a black cleaning cart that Taylor Swift fans believe was used to transport her during her Eras Tour.
“Pictured: the catering truck,” Rubashkin wrote.
A satirical X page used AI to depict Trump sitting cross-legged on the floor of a catering truck as he feasted on a meal, food strewn all around him. The post was captioned, “Trump inside the catering truck.”
Another X user opted for a more cartoonish illustration showing an orange-faced Trump hiding behind pumpkins on a delivery truck.
![@truthbaited on X [AI-generated]](https://www.thedailybeast.com/resizer/v2/LFONJ4PWDZBNBETL6NESJ27QMA.png?auth=40a9c14cc09b2d5d1b051c4750d6c005f751c6ace05e431fa31d01d572cf77cb&width=800&height=586)
“Where did this extra pumpkin come from?” a character pondered.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the barrage of memes.
Trump spoke openly about his safety concerns during his Turkey trip for the NATO summit, telling reporters at the time, “The life of a president is very dangerous.”
“It’s a very dangerous profession. I’m number one on the kill list for Iran,” he claimed. “They’re lovely people. I’m number one. So I don’t know. I can’t tell you that, but I don’t really care because I’m doing my job and I’m doing it, I hope, better than anybody’s ever done it because we have a country that’s hot and really, really successful.”
