President Donald Trump was joined only by a single cabinet member when he was secretly whisked onto a second plane, with two cabinet members remaining behind, according to a new report.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined Trump on the C-32A after he snuck onto it with aides Natalie Harp, Dan Scavino, and Walt Nauta, people familiar with the matter told CNN. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flew back from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Air Force One, and were aware of the president’s move, according to CBS News.
Trump confirmed his switch-up to reporters on Tuesday, saying he was obeying recommendations from the Secret Service and the military.
“They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” he said.
The president said he was unbothered by the assassination threats that necessitated the ruse, saying that only consequential presidents get targeted.
“I don’t worry about anything, to be honest. Whatever it is. You know my attitude? Whatever,” he said.
A senior Trump administration official told Fox News on Wednesday that the so-called “decoy” Air Force One was protected by U.S. fighter jets on its flight back from Ankara.
The news that Trump snuck aboard a second flight after boarding Air Force One led to an outcry among critics, who portrayed the move as Trump being prepared to sacrifice the lives of journalists and his own officials for his own safety.
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One U.S. official told the Washington Post that the deception operation wasn’t the first of its kind, and over the past 30 years, there have been several cases where the president was made to secretly board a second plane after publicly boarding the first due to serious threats. None of these operations has previously been made public.
The president secretly flying in a second plane has been publicized before, such as during former President Bill Clinton’s March 2000 trip to Islamabad, Pakistan. Clinton was filmed disembarking from a plain white jet trailing Air Force One, unlike Trump, whose White House officials continued to hide the deception after the fact.