Khaberni - American President Donald Trump said that he sneaked out of the presidential plane "Air Force One" in Turkey because the Secret Service and the military wanted him to board "another plane" due to some threat.
Trump added, "I follow the instructions of the Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to travel on another flight, in another plane," referring to the incident that followed his visit to Turkey last month.
His comments confirmed a report first published in the Washington Post on Monday, which stated that Trump hid in an airport supply container to sneak onto another plane, while Air Force One, filled with White House officials, security staff, and journalists, took off from Turkish airspace as major bait, in anticipation of Iran carrying out a credible threat of an attack.
Trump told reporters after a trip to Ohio, "I can only do what they tell me," adding that he does not trust Iran.
Trump had boarded the recently renovated presidential plane provided by Qatar heading to Ankara to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, but he unexpectedly boarded an older presidential plane when leaving the country, a move that raised questions about the safety of the new plane.
Trump said on the platform "Truth Social" before leaving Ankara that he would use the old presidential plane with light blue color "for the sake of old times" to travel from Ankara to the Royal Air Force base in Mildenhall in Britain, while the new plane stopped at the same base to allow U.S. military there to inspect it.
The "Washington Post" reported, quoting an American official familiar with the operation and materials reviewed by the newspaper, that after Trump boarded the old "Air Force One" in front of the cameras in Ankara, he was secretly transported by an airport supply truck to a smaller plane, a C-32A model belonging to the Air Force.
The newspaper mentioned that this camouflage operation was in response to a credible threat targeting Trump. A similar operation occurred in 2000 when former President Bill Clinton boarded a business typically used model of aircraft without distinctive markings to travel to Pakistan, while his official presidential aircraft was sent as bait.
In the latest incident, journalists who thought they were traveling with Trump on board the old "Air Force One" - which was actually used as bait - reported receiving instructions to keep the window curtains in the press cabin closed. The newspaper noted that some White House staff also believed that the president was on board the plane.
