Washington, Aug 13. (dpa/GNA) – US President Donald Trump, switched planes as he left a NATO summit in Turkey last month, due to a possible threat, he told reporters on Tuesday.
US media reported on Monday that Trump had secretly left Turkey aboard a smaller military aircraft, following what was believed to be an Iranian threat.
Trump told reporters that he had followed instructions from the Secret Service and the military. “They wanted me to go in a different flight, a different plane, equal safety, but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say,” he said on Tuesday.
“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,” Trump said. “I have a lot of threats that you don’t know about. Any consequential president has a lot of threats. Non-consequential presidents don’t get threats.”
Trump was filmed boarding the presidential Boeing 747 in Ankara, but was later moved unnoticed into an airport catering vehicle, which took him to an Air Force C-32A, the Washington Post reported, citing a US official familiar with the operation and material reviewed by the newspaper.
The smaller aircraft flew Trump to the United Kingdom, while White House staff and journalists remained aboard the larger plane, apparently unaware that the president was no longer there.
The New York Times also reported on the deception, citing a US official. The operation was designed to give the impression that Trump had travelled aboard the presidential aircraft throughout, according to the Washington Post.
GNA