Donald Trump pulled off a secretive plane switch on way back from a NATO summit in Turkey last month . He left media and most of his staff on a decoy Air Force One. The president was whisked away in a catering truck amidst fears of an Iranian missile strike targeting his plane.
Now,over a month later, this comes out. Security concerns for Trump remain high amid ongoing tensions with Iran. Experts say these precautions aren't rare near conflict zones,but usually,presidential movements get revealed after the fact.
For Trump,this episode is personal. He often ties military actions to threats against him. In February,after an Israeli airstrike killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian figures, Trump told ABC's Jonathan Karl:
I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed this in March,saying,“Iran tried to kill President Trump,and President Trump got the last laugh,”after a U.S. strike took out an Iranian assassination unit leader . Trump often mused about the dangers of the presidency, once saying he might not have run if he’d known how risky it was.
Threats escalated after Trump's January 2020 order to kill Qasem Soleimani. Iran's leaders vowed revenge,even painting a mural of a drone targeting Trump golfing in Florida.
Biden administration warned Iran in 2022 against targeting Americans after a plot against former aide John Bolton was uncovered. In July 2024,Asif Merchant,linked to IRGC,was arrested for plotting against Trump. Later,Farhad Shakeri faced charges in another assassination plan .
Merchant was convicted in March 2026,but Shakeri remains on the run. Trump’s actions,like 2025 bombing of Iran's nuclear sites,stirred more threats. In July,Trump wrote on Truth Social about Iranian assassination threats and warned of U.S. missile retaliation .
At Khamenei's funeral,banners read “#KillTrump.” A Tehran mural showed Trump in a coffin with “We will kill Trump” and “Blood for blood.” Iran denies plot involvement,but these messages after Khamenei's death show the conflict…isn't over, and Trump remains a target.
Back with reporters en route to the U.S.,Trump explained the unusual journey . Secret Service had shades drawn on the decoy plane during takeoff from Ankara. “I have read all the time I’m number one on their list,” he told them. “But if I go,you go,right?”
