White House says Trump’s Air Force One switch was a ‘misdirection’

The White House on Thursday defended the new retrofitted Air Force One as safe and secure after reports emerged indicating President Trump switched to the older model to leave Turkey out of an abundance of caution.

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

“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 — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats,” he said.

Trump took the older, baby blue model of Air Force One when departing from the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday to fly to the Royal Air Force Mildenhall base in the........

© The Hill