New details: The senior minister smuggled out with Trump - and the two senior officials left on the "decoy plane"
President Trump was secretly extracted from Turkey in a deception operation involving senior administration officials. While some officials and advisors remained on the plane from which Trump was evacuated, others flew to the UK with the president on a military aircraft. Journalists on board the decoy plane were unaware of the operation.
A number of American officials remained on the presidential plane from which Donald Trump was secretly smuggled out in Turkey. Among the senior officials who effectively served as bait for the Iranians are Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The New York Times reported that Rubio knew about the deception operation, but it is unclear if the other officials were aware. The journalists on board did not know they were being used as bait. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth took off on the military plane with Trump and participated in the deception, entering the aircraft alone to create the impression that he was the most senior figure on board.
While President Trump was secretly moved to a military plane due to a concrete threat from Iran against Air Force One, several American officials remained on the presidential plane, which took off as scheduled and effectively served as bait, as reported overnight by The Washington Post.
According to the report, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were the two most senior cabinet members on the plane that was deemed too dangerous for the president.
Alongside the two cabinet members, several senior advisors, including Stephen Miller and White House spokesperson Steven Cheung, were also on the plane. The journalists on board were unaware that they were being used as bait for the Iranians.
"They just didn't look like they gave a thought to anyone but the president and the people who were with him," said Joe Lockhart, who served as White House press secretary under President Clinton, in an interview with The New York Times, recounting a similar situation he experienced in Pakistan. "We did everything in our power to ensure that the maximum number of people, especially civilians, would be protected and not used as human shields. They didn't even think about it. And for me, that's the big difference."
Unlike Rubio and Bessent, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was on the military plane that departed Turkey with Trump, as reported by CBS. He participated in the deception operation by entering the plane alone to hint that he was the most senior figure on board. Trump's senior advisors Natalie Harp, Walt Nauta, and Dan Scavino were also on the flight.
As part of the operation, Trump boarded the presidential plane in front of photographers and journalists, then was smuggled in a food container to a military plane that flew him out of the country. Upon arrival in the UK, Trump returned to the presidential plane and boarded it again, descending shortly after in front of reporters as he usually does.
The New York Times reported that the operation was carried out following concrete information about a surface-to-air missile threat against the presidential plane. The intelligence, from several sources, included a warning about a gunman spotted with a shoulder-fired missile near the NATO summit in Ankara, and the fact that the Iranians knew Trump's exact location.
