Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, declined to answer when CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins confronted him outside the White House about President Donald Trump‘s secret flight switch in Turkey.
Collins asked Miller on camera, “Did you know you were on the plane that the president was not on?”
Miller repeatedly walked past without responding.
Collins later aired the exchange on CNN, telling viewers, “That was the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, declining to answer questions from reporters today, including mine.”
The exchange came amid scrutiny over the Trump administration’s handling of what officials described as a credible threat against the president following a NATO summit in Turkey.
The decoy flight out of Turkey
The confrontation stemmed from The Washington Post investigation revealing that Trump was secretly moved from the legacy Air Force One aircraft to a smaller military jet, an Air Force C-32A, while departing Ankara.
According to the report, Trump boarded the blue-and-white Air Force One in full view of television cameras and reporters before being quietly transferred minutes later using an airport catering truck normally used to load meals onto planes. The move followed intelligence warnings of a threat against Trump from Iran after renewed U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Footage from the Turkish airport showed the elevated truck positioned against the side of the aircraft opposite the press boarding stairs before driving away and disappearing from view for roughly 40 seconds. The legacy jet carrying journalists and White House staff then continued without Trump, effectively functioning as a decoy, continuing to be identified publicly as Air Force One even though Trump was no longer aboard.
CBS News reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump’s personal aide Natalie Harp traveled with the president on the secret flight. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who are typically separated from the president for security reasons because they are in the presidential line of succession, also knew Trump was on a different aircraft.
Miller was among those aboard the decoy plane who apparently had not been told Trump had been moved.
Collins details who knew about the switch
Collins explained on CNN which officials had been informed of the change.
“Sources tell CNN that the president was joined on that secret flight by the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, his executive assistant Natalie Harp, the deputy White House chief of staff Dan Scavino and his close staffer Walt Nauta,” she said.
She then noted that Rubio, Bessent “and yes, Stephen Miller as well” were aboard the decoy Air Force One.
Many passengers on the decoy aircraft, including members of the White House press pool, did not know Trump had been moved to another plane. The secrecy reportedly continued even after Trump had safely landed.
Trump and Rubio respond
Trump defended the decision by pointing to instructions from the Secret Service.
“They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety,” Trump said. “I do what they say.”
Rubio was also asked whether flying Americans aboard the decoy Air Force One had put them at risk. He did not directly answer, instead smiling at reporters and saying, “Thank you, guys,” before walking away.
Commentary on the secrecy
The episode drew further scrutiny during a CNN segment in which Collins discussed the operation with commentators David Axelrod and Scott Jennings.
Axelrod, who previously flew aboard Air Force One during the Obama administration, said he was troubled by the fact that passengers and reporters aboard the original aircraft were effectively used as a decoy.
Axelrod acknowledged the need to protect the president but said the secrecy surrounding the operation, particularly involving the press pool, raised legitimate questions. “This is very unusual — the way they approached it and the secrecy surrounding it,” he said.