Trump’s Air Force One Jig Stokes Outrage and Jokes
Reports of President Donald Trump’s secret evacuation from Air Force One while leaving others onboard as decoys has sparked ridicule and outrage.
Source: Anna Moneymaker / Getty
Recent reporting on President Donald Trump’s escape from a Iranian assasination threat by slipping away from Air Force One in a catering cart last month gave off the air of an espionage thriller. But more details regarding the rest of the passengers – including cabinet members- being kept in the dark and in danger during the elaborate ruse has led some to ridicule the president and be outraged over the incident.
The Washington Post’s initial report on what took place on July 8 as Trump was preparing to leave Ankara, Turkiye, was confirmed by further reporting from the New York Times.Washington Post reporter Josh Hudson shared video in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that showed Trump entering the parked Air Force One at the front while the press and other staffers entered at the rear.
The clip then shows the before and after of Trump being transferred via the catering truck to a C-32A military airplane. That plane would fly on to an air base in Britain, along with the Air Force One jet. Trump would then return to the older Air Force One to fly back to the United States instead of the $400 million Qatari-provided Air Force One, curiously claiming that British officials wanted to check out the new jet.
Members of the press on Air Force One were joined by White House staffers who also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and senior aides Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung. That detail left many to question why so many people were disregarded to protect Trump against the threat. TMZ founder and attorney Harvey Levin raised that question in the outlet’s show on Tuesday (Aug. 11).
Trump told reporters that it was the Secret Service who made the call for the switch on Tuesday. “I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for,” he told them, attempting to dismiss that the other plane with the crew, staffers and press wasn’t in danger.
