Amid fears of a potential assassination attempt, US President Donald Trump’s post-NATO Summit departure from Ankara involved an elaborate deception operation involving a secret switch of aircraft. The same threat has brought Avenger air defense systems to his Bedminster golf course.
Citing unidentified US officials, the Washington Post recently disclosed that the US President boarded the old Air Force One big jet in front of television cameras, but quickly exited the aircraft and secretly boarded another smaller jet as part of an elaborate ruse in the wake of a looming security threat amid continued hostilities with Tehran.
Notably, President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara on July 7, 2026, aboard the new Qatar-gifted Boeing 747-8 Air Force One, which had been retrofitted in a red, white, dark blue, and gold livery chosen especially for the President. This marked the plane’s first international flight after it was donated by Doha last year.
Before his departure, though, Trump announced that he would head back in the older “baby blue” Air Force One aircraft for old time’s sake, adding that both planes would make a stop at Royal Air Force (RAF) Mildenhall on their way back to the US.
The abrupt switch at the time prompted speculations that the new aircraft did not have the same security measures needed amid renewed security threats from Iran. Nonetheless, Trump refuted all concerns, saying, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.
This was merely a deception operation, with the older Air Force One used as a decoy.
A US official told The Post that shortly after boarding the older Air Force One, Trump discreetly exited via a catering vehicle normally used to load meals and supplies. He then boarded a C-32A—typically reserved for the vice president and other senior officials—for the flight to Mildenhall. The older aircraft served as a decoy, carrying the White House press pool and staff who believed the president remained aboard.
The reporters were apparently instructed to keep the window shades closed in the press cabin, and when they asked Trump about this unusual move, he said, “Because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”
The Post states that Trump’s C-32A arrived in Britain at approximately 10:20 p.m., while the media and older Air Force One arrived minutes later. It was, and still is, unclear how Trump was transferred back to the older Air Force One from the C-32A.
After arriving at Mindenhall, Trump boarded the Qatari-gifted plane and flew home without speaking to reporters, according to the latest reports.
The deception operation has triggered fresh concerns over the safety of the new aircraft, which was hurriedly retrofitted by L3Harris Technologies, and is said to lack the advanced antimissile capabilities of the older Air Force One models. The US Air Force, which manages the aircraft fleet used by the president, had previously stated that it could prioritize only some of the required renovations and modifications to quickly put the jet into service.
Several analysts backed the deception operation, saying that the Presidential special forces have prepared for every scenario to counter prevailing threats. Meanwhile, others questioned the decision to put journalists on the decoy aircraft, which could threaten their safety. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that a similar deception operation was conducted for former US President Bill Clinton in 2000, when he flew into Pakistan aboard an unmarked executive jet while using the formal Air Force One as a decoy.
When probed about the secretive aircraft switch, Communications Director Steve Cheung said the jet had been equipped with advanced security measures to ensure the safety of the president and his crew. “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats,” Cheung Waa quoted as saying in the Post report.
The operation was prompted by a credible threat that intensified during the Turkey visit, when Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran over amid fresh hostilities.
Two days after returning, he posted on Truth Social: “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat… to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!”
While exchanges of air strikes between Iran and the United States have ceased, the assassination threat continues to shape presidential security protocols.
Golfing With The Avengers
Photos and videos of Trump playing golf and hitting the links with the Army’s Avenger short-range air defense (SHORAD) system appeared online over the weekend and have since gone viral on social media. The photos were purportedly taken while Trump was at his golf course in New Jersey for the final round of the LIV Golf Bedminster tournament.
In one image, for instance, Trump is seen using a wedge while an Avenger is positioned behind concertina wire.
This piqued the interest of observers who noted that there may be other air defense and even electronic warfare platforms positioned in the area.
A Humvee-mounted system armed with FIM-92 Stinger missiles and a machine gun, Avenger SHORAD provides mobile, short-range defense against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and drones. It is often paired with AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radars for detection and has been modified to handle drones, which pose a massive security threat to people and establishments, as seen recently.
The deployment of the Avenger at Bedminster comes amid heightened security risks to Trump. In a separate instance, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) F-16 Fighting Falcons intercepted two general aviation aircraft that had breached the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) airspace over the region while Trump was still at Bedminster. “All general aviation aircraft were safely escorted out of the area by NORAD aircraft,” NORAD announced in a statement on X.
Moreover, Trump has faced an assassination attempt from Iran for longer than anticipated. Earlier, Trump told some of his friends he was afraid Iran might try to assassinate him in revenge for the death of Qassem Suleimani in 2020, as revealed in a book by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser published in 2022.
Later, in 2021, Khamenei posted an image suggesting a drone targeting Trump on a golf course in a “vengeance” strike in retaliation for the death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on X (formerly Twitter). The post prompted Twitter to suspend the Supreme Leader’s account at the time.
The concerns about a potential attempt on Trump’s life have been heightened, given that the US and Israeli strikes killed Khamenei on February 28, in the initial days of Operation Epic Fury. It does not help that ordinary Iranians congregating for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for Trump’s murder.
Although both Iran and the US have stopped strikes aimed at one another, tensions continue to escalate amid the suspension of direct negotiations. And so does the threat of an assassination.
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