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You are here: Home / National Security / Trump Claims His Plane Faced ‘Greater Risk’ Than Decoy

Trump Claims His Plane Faced ‘Greater Risk’ Than Decoy

August 12, 2026 at 7:31 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in ‌Turkey last month at the direction of the U.S. Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One,” Reuters reports.

“Following a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military ​plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat.”

New York Times: With Trump secretly evacuated, imperiled Air Force One became a flying decoy.

Filed Under: National Security, White House

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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