LONDON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has confirmed reports that he secretly switched planes in Turkey to return home after NATO summit last month amid security concerns.
The Washington Post reported that according to a clandestine security plan, Trump boarded Air Force One at Ankara's Esenboga Airport on July 8, which was shot by news cameras, before hiding in a catering truck parked nearby, and moved to a smaller Air Force C-32A aircraft.
Both the planes took off for the UK, where Trump got on board the Qatari-gifted Air Force One and flew home.
Trump was forced to swap planes reportedly to protect him from a potential death threat posed by Iran.
When asked about the last-minute switch, Trump told reporters on Tuesday, 'I just follow what they'd like to do. So 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. I do what they say. I guess there was a threat out there. I didn't really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats.'
Asked whether those left on the decoy plane were in danger, Trump replied, 'I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk. I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.'
CBS News quoted officials as saying that the U.S. secret service received credible information regarding a potential Iranian missile attack targeting the plane in which Trump was supposed to travel.
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