US President Donald Trump used his old Air Force One plane to leave the Nato summit in Turkey after a switch was made at the request of the US Secret Service ‘as a security precaution.’
Trump sent his new Qatari-gifted jet ahead to Britain before his arrival. After landing at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk aboard his old aircraft, the US President switched to the new plane for the journey back to Washington.
Trump said on his Truth Social network he was sending the new jet to Mildenhall airbase so that service members would have a ‘chance to tour the Aircraft.’
‘Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first. For old time’s sake, we´ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey,’ Trump added.
But the switch from the new jet on its maiden foreign trip sparked speculation it was because its security features were lacking, particularly as the US launched fresh strikes against Iran, which borders Turkey.
According to the New York Times, the new plane lacks some capabilities of the old plane, but the switch was not made because of a specific threat.
Reporters were told to keep window shades closed in the press cabin during take-off, without explanation.
It came as Trump alluded to previous alleged assassination attempts by Iran during a press conference on Wednesday.
The President declared at the NATO summit in Turkey: ‘They [Iran] want to take out the US leader – me. I’m on every list.’
‘I’m on every single one of their lists, and so far I guess I’ve been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn’t last very long, because that’s the way it goes,’ Trump continued.
His warning came as hardline lawmakers in Tehran openly called for missiles to be fired at his location at the summit.