President Trump’s security team successfully executed a decoy operation in Ankara, Turkey, to evade an Iranian assassination plot. The operation, which took place on July 8, involved Trump secretly boarding a smaller plane, a C-32A military transport, after pretending to board Air Force One in front of the press corps.
Details of the Operation
The Washington Post reported that Trump walked out in front of the cameras and boarded the familiar blue-and-white Air Force One, but minutes earlier, he had been quietly moved off the tarmac in an elevated airport catering truck and driven to the smaller plane. The decoy Air Force One carrying the press corps and staff had no president on board, and nobody watching from the ground would have known the difference.
The reason for the operation was a credible threat: Iran was believed to be plotting an attack on Trump or his aircraft, coming on the heels of U.S. strikes against Iranian targets and the sharp escalation in tensions that followed. The White House isn’t denying the report, with Communications Director Steven Cheung stating that ‘America’s enemies’ should understand the lengths the country will go to protect its commander in chief.
Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.
