Watch the moment Trump hid in food cart in bid to board secret flight in Turkey amid Iran threat
President Donald Trump secretly switched from Air Force One in Turkey last month after U.S. officials received a credible threat that Iran could target him.
Newly released footage shared by Eric Daugherty appears to show the moment Trump was moved in an airport catering truck as part of an elaborate operation to transfer him to a smaller military aircraft secretly.
The elaborate security operation unfolded on July 8 after Trump attended a NATO summit in Ankara.
According to The Washington Post, while the White House publicly maintained that the president left Turkey aboard the older Air Force One, the switch was already widely reported at the time.
Trump had initially boarded the familiar blue-and-white presidential jet in front of television cameras and waved goodbye. Minutes later, the POTUS and several of his aides slipped out through the opposite side of the aircraft inside an airport catering truck.
The vehicle then drove him to a nearby Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757, used to transport senior U.S. officials.
The operation was designed to make it appear that Trump remained aboard Air Force One. Journalists and some White House staff members boarded the larger aircraft, believing the president was still inside, while reporters were instructed to lower their window shades.
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ultimately flew to Britain aboard the C-32A, which used the nondescript call sign “Reach 18” rather than the familiar “Air Force One” designation.
Flight-tracking data showed no public record for the C-32A, while the legacy Air Force One later appeared on radar and used the “AF1” call sign despite Trump no longer being aboard.
An Iranian assassination threat prompted the deception after intelligence officials reportedly flagged a specific threat against Trump or his aircraft.
Trump later addressed the unusual precautions while speaking to reporters aboard the presidential aircraft. He explained that journalists had been told to lower their shades because they were “probably on a dangerous flight.”
“I’ve been threatened all the time,” Trump said, adding that he remained “number one” on Iran’s “list.”
“But if I go, you go. Right?” he told reporters. “Perhaps someday you want to change professions.”
The reported threat came amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran. Time reported that Iran’s leadership had continued to call for revenge following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.
His successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed that those responsible would face retaliation.
Although he did not directly refer to Trump, Israeli intelligence had reportedly warned Washington about an Iranian plot targeting the president.
Authorities had also reportedly uncovered Iran-linked assassination plots involving Trump earlier, including a 2024 case involving Pakistani national Asif Merchant and another alleged plot involving Afghan national Farhad Shakeri.