Donald Trump ‘forced to hide in catering cart’ in secret plane swap after assassination threat

The old switcheroo

The incident, which happened last month during the US president's visit to Turkey, has only just been brought to the public attention via an insider speaking to the Washington Post under anonymity.

On Monday 6 July, Donald Trump left the US en route for Ankara, Turkey to participate in a Nato summit.

On this occasion, Trump flew in on the Boeing 747-8 gifted to the United States by Qatar, instead of the old Air Force One plane.

The new 747-8 gifted to Trump by Qatar. Image: Getty.

However, upon leaving Ankara, Trump announced he would be taking the old Air Force One aircraft because the newer jumbo was not equipped with the same security measures with Trump saying this aircraft would undergo upgrades.

So, Trump got onto the old Air Force One in view of all the TV cameras, however, as per the Washington Post, he didn't stay there long.

A US official "familiar with the operation and another person with knowledge of the president’s travel" told the paper that Trump was secretly shuttled minutes later onto an Air Force C-32A, Boeing 757 variant, via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight.

The C-32A variant based on the Boeing 757. Image: Adobe Stock.

This effectively made Air Force One a “decoy” with media and some White House staff aboard, many of whom were unaware of the switch, the paper reports.

The entourage of aircraft then made their way to the UK to land at RAF Mildenhall.

While the C-32A could not be tracked through publicly available flight tracking data, both jumbos changed call signs.

To complete the illusion, Trump appeared in front of TV cameras from the old Air Force One which he claimed to have flown on.

There is no explanation on how the US president got back on the original Air Force One from the C-32A.

White House communications director Steven Cheung issued a statement defending the new Air Force One gifted by the Qataris.

The old, and iconic, Air Force One. Image: Adobe Stock.

He said: “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’s statement 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 to address those threats.”

The entire situation highlights the threat that the US security forces believed was being posed against Trump, especially being located in a country bordering Iran.

Furthermore, this decoy-switch took place just a night after Trump had renewed strikes on Iran.

It is not the first time this tactic has been employed, with Bill Clinton previously switching planes to a plain white jet which he disembarked from in Pakistan in March 2000.