President Donald Trump departed Turkey aboard the older Air Force One instead of the newly retrofitted aircraft accepted from Qatar, prompting questions about why the president switched planes.
The White House insisted that the new aircraft is equipped with advanced security measures, as reports suggested that the older presidential jet’s defense capabilities may have factored into the decision.
Journalist Andrew Feinberg wrote on X that the “most likely reason” for the change was that the former Qatari jet “doesn’t have the self-defense capabilities needed when flying from Turkey while in a shooting war with Iran.”
Former CIA station chief and Fox News contributor Daniel Hoffman said the switch reminded him of threat briefings he delivered to senior U.S. officials.
“Credible threats required us to take countermeasures,” Hoffman said, adding that the older Air Force One reportedly has enhanced security capabilities that the newer aircraft does not. “I clearly think this is part of the president’s calculus.”
Later reports indicated that the Secret Service urged Trump to leave Turkey on the older Air Force One as a security precaution, citing sources familiar with the matter. The reports also said Trump told reporters the switch had nothing to do with security.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said the Qatari Boeing 747 is “a state of the art aircraft” equipped with “high-level security protocols” and added that the administration uses “every tool at our disposal, including distraction and misdirection,” to protect the president.
The speculation came as Trump said Iran considers him its “number one target” amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Trump pushed back on the idea that the change was security-related. When asked what security concern caused the switch, he said, “We sent it a little early so the base could see the plane.”
A reporter then asked why passengers were told to close their window shades.
“Because you’re on a dangerous flight,” Trump replied.
Trump later said on Truth Social that he sent the newer aircraft ahead to RAF Mildenhall, a U.S.-operated air base in Suffolk, England, where American service members toured the plane before Trump boarded it for the flight back to Washington.
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