The "decoy" Air Force One that President Donald Trump was snuck off of was protected by U.S.fighter jets on its flight to the United Kingdom, a senior Trump administration official told Fox News on Wednesday.The revelation pushes back on media fears the press corps and staff might have been left vulnerable to the perceived threat from hostile actors seeking to strike Trump's flight out of Ankara, Turkey, last month.The previously undisclosed security measure adds another layer to the extraordinary precautions surrounding the president’s plane swap, which left the aircraft normally associated with Trump continuing on to the U.K.
without him aboard.The press corps was joined on the "decoy" plane under U.S.fighter jet cover by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and were aware Trump was not on board, the official said.TRUMP USED CATERING TRUCK, AIR FORCE ONE DECOY TO EVADE IRAN THREAT: REPORTThis photo shows the press boarding the Air Force One aircraft from Ankara, while a catering truck is located at the front of the plane.
(Pool)Staff and members of traveling press pool had been instructed to keep the window shades closed throughout the flight, preventing them from seeing the fighter escort.According to a pool report circulated Tuesday, there was little indication at the airport that anything unusual was happening.The press vans were positioned far back in the motorcade, and photographers did not see Trump board an aircraft from their usual position beneath the wing.White House staff and reporters boarded the original plane as normal, where bags of snack mix bearing the presidential seal were waiting for them.TRUMP’S SLY PLANE SWITCH RAISES EYEBROWS OVER SAFETY OF PASSENGERS LEFT BEHIND ON BOARDPresident Donald Trump boards the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, Britain, after attending a NATO leaders summit in Turkey, on July 8, 2026.
(Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)Once aboard, however, the press was told ...