Rubio, Bessent stayed on decoy Air Force One

President Donald Trump secretly left a plane publicly identified as Air Force One in Turkey last month and flew on a separate aircraft while two Cabinet members, senior aides and members of the press remained aboard the decoy flight, CBS News reported.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were on the decoy plane after Trump departed Ankara on July 8, according to sources familiar with the situation cited by CBS. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled with Trump on the undisclosed flight, along with White House aides Natalie Harp, Walt Nauta and Dan Scavino.

Rubio and Bessent knew the president was on a different plane and remained separated from him to maintain the line of succession, CBS reported. Other White House aides aboard the decoy flight included Stephen Miller, Will Scharf, Steven Cheung, Mike Needham, Ross Worthington and Monica Crowley.

The designation “Air Force One” applies to any aircraft carrying the president. But in this case, the aircraft the public was told was Air Force One kept that call sign even after Trump was no longer aboard, CBS and the BBC reported.

Trump had announced in Ankara that he would leave on the older Air Force One rather than a newer Qatari-donated jet he had taken to the NATO summit. He said he was switching planes “for old time’s sake” and that U.S. forces at a British refueling stop would be able to see the new plane. CBS reported, however, that the Secret Service advised Trump to take the older plane for security reasons.

Video recorded by the press showed Trump walking up the stairs of the older Air Force One and disappearing into the aircraft, with a catering truck visible on the other side. Several minutes later, the truck drove away to another U.S. government plane, which The Washington Post reported was an Air Force C-32A. The Washington Post first reported the undisclosed trip.

The BBC, citing CBS, reported that Trump hid on a catering truck to be moved clandestinely to the military plane after boarding Air Force One with Rubio, Bessent and members of the press. CBS reported that Trump covertly moved from the publicly identified plane to the other aircraft with help from a catering truck.

Trump told CBS News on Tuesday night that the decision was made by the military and Secret Service, who “wanted me to go in a different flight.” He said the move was in response to a threat, adding that he gets “a lot of threats.”

“Any consequential president has a lot of threats,” Trump told reporters.

Asked why it was too dangerous for him to fly on Air Force One but not too dangerous for members of the press, Trump said, “I think, actually, the plane that I flew on was at greater risk.”

Reporters on the publicly identified Air Force One said they were told while in Ankara to keep the window shades in the press cabin closed. Asked later why, Trump said they were “probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags that we have to deal with.”

Trump flew from Ankara to a refueling stop in the United Kingdom on the separate plane while the press and staff traveled the same route on the aircraft still publicly identified as Air Force One, believing the president was aboard. In the U.K., Trump switched to the newer plane donated by Qatar and retrofitted by the U.S. Air Force to serve as the new presidential aircraft. He later spoke with reporters as they crossed the Atlantic toward Washington.

The BBC said it contacted the White House for comment.