Trump secretly changed planes while in Turkey, allegedly riding in an airport catering truck

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump secretly left Turkey on a military plane last month amid an alleged assassination threat by Iran against Trump, while the White House publicly stated that he was on Air Force One.

According to The Washington Post citing sources, Trump boarded the older Air Force One jumbo plane in front of television cameras in Ankara before being secretly transferred minutes later to a smaller Air Force C-32A plane using an airport catering truck.

The report states that the maneuver was designed to hide Trump's location from the public, journalists, and a number of White House staff.

The operation was carried out the night after US forces launched another attack on Iran following the failure of negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

As reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Tuesday, August 11, Trump visited Ankara to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit on July 7-8 with world leaders when the alleged threat emerged.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung defended the move by saying the Qatar-donated plane, now used as Air Force One, has been "equipped with high-level security protocols" to ensure the president's safety.

"As the president has recently said, there are many enemies of America who are targeting him, and we are using every available means to face this threat," he said.