Trump put lives at risk with 'cloak-and-dagger' Air Force One trick

President Donald Trump pauses before answering a reporter’s question aboard Air Force One en route from Florida to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, January 4, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

President Donald Trump's recent Air Force One ruse might seem "non-controversial — and even kind of cool, in a cloak-and-dagger sort of way," but as one CNN analysis argued, the situation actually appears to have put lives at risk.

After departing from Turkey last month, reports revealed that the administration had opted to fly out on an older Air Force One model, instead of the one recently gifted to him by Qatar. This was down to the fact that the new model still lacked sufficient security measures, and concerns emerged about Trump being targeted by Iran.

Now, new reporting has revealed that Trump was actually covertly "transferred via a catering truck to a smaller Air Force C-32A" to fly from Turkey to the U.K., where it was then set up to look like he had been on the older Air Force One all along.

Writing about the incident for CNN on Tuesday, senior reporter Aaron Blake broke down why this ruse raised "some very real issues and questions," including the possibility that it put the lives of reporters in danger.

"While it’s understandable to take extensive measures to protect the president, this plan left many people — including reporters and administration staffers — on the legacy Air Force One as unwitting and unknowing decoys very much in the line of fire," Blake wrote. "The questions from there are: Was there any alternative to that, such as allowing everyone else to fly out on other airplanes? Why were reporters not informed? (Sometimes such information can be shared on an embargoed basis, in which reporters have the information but can’t publish it. Of course, the Trump administration doesn’t trust the press.) And lastly, what precautions were taken to protect the legacy plane?"

Former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald said during an earlier CNN appearance that "There’s going to be questions now" about the administration's efforts, or lack thereof, to protect the planes that Trump was not on. Blake also noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio ignored CNN reporters when they asked about this issue on Tuesday.

Blake raised several other issues with the administration's handling of the situation, including the way in which it continued to lie about swapping Trump onto a different plane even after the danger had passed, and the way in which the whole affair "sharply undercuts Trump’s claims of Iran’s weakness."

"On a broader level, this development thickens the plot on an already confusing saga involving Air Force One, security concerns and the White House’s efforts to tamp down that story — including by issuing controversial subpoenas to New York Times reporters," Blake added. "There were already valid questions about the initial decision to not let Trump fly his Qatari-gifted plane back from Turkey. If the plane wasn’t as safe as the legacy plane, why was Trump flying it at all, particularly in foreign airspace? It suggested Trump’s desire to get the coveted new plane in the air might have led to cut corners (which is a theme with him)."

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