President Donald Trump said he took a “different plane” from a NATO summit in Turkey last month at the direction of the Secret Service because of a threat against him, downplaying the risks to himself and those who traveled on the Air Force One jet after he secretly left it.
“I go by Secret Service and the military,” Trump told reporters Tuesday at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, in his first public comments on the operation. “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.”
The Washington Post reported Monday that an Iranian assassination threat prompted the extraordinary clandestine mission in which Trump boarded Air Force One in view of television cameras before being secretly shuttled to a smaller military aircraft via an airport catering truck, flying to Britain separately from the White House press corps and senior officials.
The swap was carried out unbeknownst to journalists and some White House staff members, who believed they were on the same plane as the president. Reporters in the press cabin were instructed to lower their window shades.
The move meant Trump’s location was concealed from the public and senior U.S. officials for hours, in an incident that could further erode an already tense relationship between the Trump White House and the press corps.
It also highlighted the depth of concern U.S. security officials had about his safety leaving Turkey amid the U.S. war with Iran. Turkey, a NATO member and U.S. ally, shares a border with Iran.
Trump had already announced he would return to the United States on the “former Air Force One” rather than a newer Boeing 747-8 gifted by Qatar that flew him there. The security of the Qatar-provided plane has been called into question and Trump said last month it would be “maxed out.”
On Tuesday, Trump minimized the risk to those who remained aboard the former Air Force One, saying he thought the smaller Air Force C-32A he traveled on was the plane “they would be more likely to go for.”
The president — who has been the target of at least two assassination attempts — also played down the threat against him, saying he was “not surprised” and “didn’t really ask too much about it.”
“Any consequential president has a lot of threats. Non-consequential presidents don’t get threatened. And I think that I may be the most consequential president,” he said.
“I don’t worry about anything, to be honest. Whatever it is. You know my attitude? Whatever.”
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