Trump switches planes over assassination threat
President Trump switched planes due to an assassination threat, leaving cabinet members on Air Force One, according to ITV News.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
President Donald Trump secretly switched planes during his return from a NATO summit in Turkey last month, after US officials received intelligence of a credible assassination threat from Iran. The elaborate operation involved the president boarding Air Force One in Ankara for the cameras, then being smuggled off through a side door into a catering truck, which drove him to a smaller military aircraft parked nearby. Meanwhile, journalists and some White House staff remained on board the original Air Force One, which flew to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk as a decoy. They were told to lower their window blinds and were unaware the president was not on board. At Mildenhall, Trump was secretly transferred back to Air Force One so he could be seen disembarking, before moving to the newer Qatari-gifted plane for the final leg to Washington. The White House initially did not confirm the story, but Trump later said he had followed the advice of the Secret Service and the military. The incident has raised questions about the safety of those left on the decoy plane, including senior cabinet members such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Democrats have called for a congressional briefing, saying it was unacceptable that Congress was kept in the dark. The White House has said it uses every tool at its disposal to counter threats to the president.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | Channel 4 | ITV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trump left the NATO summit covertly, with reports of a military flight and a catering vehicle, while the White House said he was on Air Force One. | |||||
| Around 100 staff and reporters were on the decoy flight and were not told of the potential threat. | · | ||||
| Journalists on board were unaware of the swap and were told to lower their window blinds. | · | ||||
| Cabinet officials including Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent, as well as Stephen Miller, were on the decoy plane, while Pete Hegseth traveled with the president. | · | · | |||
| The Iranian threat was described as unspecified or credible but with sketchy details. | · | · | |||
| The reported threat was from Iran, with a person seen with a missile near the airport, and Israel reportedly told the administration about the threat. | · | · | |||
| The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the story. | · | · | |||
| Democrats demanded a congressional briefing, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying it was unacceptable that Congress was kept in the dark. | · | · | · | ||
| The White House communications director said they use every tool to counter threats. | · | · | · | ||
| Trump said he followed Secret Service and military instructions, citing a possible threat and that the plane he flew on was at greater risk. | · | · | · | ||
| An AP photographer noticed unusual catering trucks near Air Force One. | · | · | · | · | |
| Both aircraft involved landed at RAF Mildenhall for refuelling. | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC ONE West focused on the mechanics of the secret transfer, the use of a catering truck, and the implications for those left on board. The reporting highlighted the extraordinary nature of the operation and raised questions about whether the White House had a legal obligation to inform those on the decoy plane about the threat. It also included live analysis from a Washington reporter.
- “So essentially, we're being used as decoys because of this unspecified Iranian threat”
- “It looks like business as usual, President Trump getting on Air Force One, but it is a ruse.”
- “No one on the plane, staff or media, knew that he wasn't actually flying onboard this aircraft.”
Channel 5 emphasised the movie-like nature of the operation, focusing on the catering truck and Trump's joking response to the press. The report noted that the White House had not confirmed the switch and highlighted the unusual instruction to lower window blinds.
- “And this sounds like it's something out of a movie, doesn't it?”
- “Trump said that the president said that they were probably on a dangerous flight, and joked that if something had happened to him, it would happen to them too.”
- “the White House has not confirmed that the planes were switched.”
ITV1 focused on the extraordinary mission and the risk to those left on the plane, including cabinet members. The reporting highlighted the Secret Service's priority to protect the president at all costs, and noted that the White House had neither confirmed nor denied the story.
- “It is a strange story of the world's most powerful man, three presidential planes and a top secret mission to foil an attempt on his life.”
- “But protecting the president at all costs is certain to be their first priority.”
- “The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the story”
Channel 4 highlighted the undercover maneuver, the risk to staff and journalists, and the political fallout with Democrats demanding a briefing. The reporting stressed the extraordinary nature of hiding the president in a catering truck and the fact that cabinet members were left on the decoy plane.
- “this is an incredible story Matt of an undercover maneuver that had the president of the United States hiding in a catering truck to swap airplanes to avoid a potential threat from Iran”
- “It's also emerged that some of the president's top cabinet members were on Air Force One, including Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, Scott Besant, the Treasury Secretary, and the president's top aide, Stephen Miller.”
- “the Democrats have called for a congressional briefing”
BBC NEWS focused on Trump's confirmation and the details of the operation, including an AP photographer's account. The reporting also covered the political reaction and the breach of trust with the press.
- “President Donald Trump has confirmed he secretly swapped planes as he left a NATO summit in Turkey last month due to a possible threat.”
- “I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it. So I do it.”
- “Journalists and some White House staff remained on board the original plane as President Trump made a stealthy exit through a catering truck.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.