Democrats are seeking a congressional briefing into an operation in which Donald Trump was secretly moved from Air Force One to a US Air Force C-32A after intelligence officials reportedly identified a credible Iranian threat against the president. More than 100 aides, officials and journalists remained on the presidential jet and were not told about the alleged danger.
Trump had publicly been expected to fly to Britain on the older Air Force One. He boarded that aircraft in view of television cameras, then left through a side route and transferred to the C-32A. The White House has not directly confirmed the account, but communications director Steven Cheung said officials used “every tool at our disposal” to protect a president facing numerous threats.
What happened during the flight
The C-32A carrying Trump arrived at RAF Mildenhall at about 10.20pm. The older Air Force One arrived minutes later. Photographers then captured Trump descending from the presidential aircraft, apparently after he had been reunited with it, before he greeted troops and boarded the newly refurbished Boeing 747 donated by Qatar for the onward flight to Washington.
Journalists travelling with Trump, along with some White House staff, believed he remained on Air Force One. Reporters were instructed to keep their window shades closed during the flight. Trump later appeared to acknowledge security concerns, telling reporters they were probably on a dangerous flight and saying that if he went, they went too.
Related coverage: Trump changed aircraft in Turkey amid missile threat from Iran-backed groups, report says.
Why lawmakers and journalists object
Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, called the operation “unprecedented and surreal” and said a briefing was needed to establish what precautions were taken to protect everyone left aboard an aircraft judged too dangerous for the president. Critics said the press corps and staff may have been used as unwitting decoys.
Steven Cash, a former CIA intelligence officer, questioned whether the passengers were warned and referred to Intelligence Community Directive 191, a duty-to-warn policy adopted in 2015. The directive requires warnings for people who are specific, credible targets of killing, serious injury or kidnapping, while allowing waivers when warnings could compromise intelligence sources, methods or operations. Cash said he knew of no exception for using people as decoys.
Former national security officials Ned Price and Jake Tapper said the administration could have protected the president while later explaining the security arrangement, rather than maintaining the public cover story for weeks.
What remains uncertain
The Washington Post and New York Times first reported the aircraft switch, while the White House has not directly confirmed the details. It is also unclear whether officials waited until Trump was safely away before allowing Air Force One to depart or sent the aircraft onward without informing those aboard.
Experts disagreed about the reported threat. Ankit Panda said an attempted attack on the presidential aircraft in Turkey would be highly implausible, while Jeffrey Lewis said a terrorist-style attack using a man-portable air-defense system was one possible concern. Former ambassador James Jeffrey said the secrecy suggested officials had serious intelligence, but the source and precise nature of any threat have not been established.
The episode followed Trump’s unexpected decision to use the older Air Force One for the first leg of his return from a Nato summit, rather than the Qatari-donated aircraft. At the time, Trump said the newer plane was being flown to Mildenhall for US troops to inspect.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.