WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump said he secretly left Air Force One and flew out of Türkiye on another aircraft in July due to a security threat.
“I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane,” Trump told reporters after a trip to Ohio.
“I just have to do what they say,” he said.
“I guess there was a threat out there. I didn’t really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats,” Trump added.
Trump, who was in Türkiye for a NATO summit, boarded Air Force One in view of cameras before leaving the aircraft through an airport catering truck and transferring to a smaller U.S. Air Force plane nearby, The Washington Post reported.
Air Force One subsequently departed Türkiye carrying senior officials, staff and journalists who were unaware that Trump was no longer aboard, according to the report published earlier on Tuesday. (Xinhua/NAN)
