At first glance, reports that President Trump secretly slipped off Air Force One in a catering truck to thwart an Iranian assassination threat sound like a blockbuster political thriller come to life. Upon closer examination, this is almost the exact opposite of President Harrison Ford heroically ditching his escape pod so he could stay aboard Air Force One, personally fighting off a band of terrorists, and saving as many passengers as possible with little concern for his own life.

Trump’s July 8 plane escapade always sounded fishy. After flying to a NATO summit in Turkey on his new $400 million luxury jet from Qatar, Trump opted to fly home on the older Air Force One. Trump claimed, absurdly, that U.S. troops stationed in U.K. really wanted to check out the new Qatari aircraft, so “for old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One.”

Later that day, the New York Times reported that the switch was really motivated by concerns that the Qatari jet’s security features weren’t up to snuff. Officials told the outlet that changing planes was a “precautionary measure made at the advice of the Secret Service and not because of a specific threat.”

It turns out none of that was accurate. In recent weeks, the Times and CBS News reported that the president actually changed planes in response to a credible threat that Iran and its proxies were targeting his Air Force One flight. And on Monday, the Washington Post revealed that Trump participated in an elaborate ruse to dodge the potential Iranian plot.

After boarding the older Air Force One in Ankara, Trump and a few aides secretly exited the aircraft on a catering truck, which then ferried them to a nearby Air Force C-32A:

To exit that plane without being seen........

© Daily Intelligencer