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US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in Türkiye last month at the direction of the U.S. Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.
Following a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, U.S. media reported.
The White House did not disclose the change and it remained a secret until the Washington Post first reported it on Monday. Some media commentators questioned whether the operation left Trump's aides and journalists travelling with him at risk aboard the plane presumed to be carrying the president.
"I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. "I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for."
Trump was accompanied by several close aides when he secretly transferred from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft in Türkiye last month, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
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