TIMELINE: Trump's elaborate covert exit from Turkey amid Iranian threat
A look at what led to the president’s secret departure through a catering truck.
Faced with threats on his life from Iran, President Donald Trump participated in an elaborate plan to hide his flight from Turkey to the United Kingdom last month using a catering food truck and a military aircraft, sources told ABC News after the ruse was first reported by the Washington Post.
The secret mission was carried out without the knowledge of members of the press traveling with the president and even some White House officials who were still aboard the old traditional Air Force One.
In reality, Trump didn't fly on his old Air Force One or his new Qatari-gifted, lavishly furnished Boeing 747-8 "bridge" Air Force One. Instead, the Post first reported, he'd secretly boarded a smaller, Air Force C-32A military jet to leave the international summit in Ankara in early July.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday night the switch was the decision of the Secret Service and the military, and said he was at "greater risk" on the secret flight.
Here's a timeline of events that led to the president's covert departure.
July 6-7
- Truce falls apart, Iran and U.S. resume attacks.
Intense U.S. airstrikes on Iran resumed after Iran struck vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the end of the ceasefire and 14-point agreement that was signed by the U.S. and Iran on June 17.
- Trump departs Washington and lands in Ankara, Turkey.
President Trump took off from Joint Base Andrews at 9:41 p.m. ET on July 6, flying to Turkey in the new Qatari-gifted aircraft that operates as a "bridge" Air Force One. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth were among those traveling with Trump, according to a White House official.
Trump landed in Ankara for a NATO summit on July 7 at 1:51 p.m. local time. He was greeted with an arrival ceremony from Turkish President Recep Erdoğan.
July 8
- Trump starts NATO summit hinting at Iranian threats.
Trump kicked off his participation in the NATO summit with a bilateral meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. During that meeting, Trump repeatedly called the Iranians "scum" and suggested that they would "go after" him.
The president also nodded to possible threats he’d seen from the Iranians, saying: "They want to take out the U.S. leader -- me. I'm on every list. I saw things this morning, 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."
"Of course they're dirty players, so they go after everyone, probably including me. I've been number one on their list for years, and they're a bunch of scum. You want to know that they're scum, and so we don't like them. I don't like them, and they're evil people," Trump added.
- New Qatari-gifted plane leaves Turkey without Trump.
According to press pool accounts, the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One was spotted leaving the nation without the president on board.
At 3:42 p.m. local time, Trump announces in a social media post he is sending the new jet to Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom to "give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force Fleet!”
Trump said in that post he’d be traveling on the old traditional Air Force One to meet them there.
- Trump answers questions on why he's not taking the new jet.
Around 7:30 p.m. local time, Trump is asked by a reporter if his decision not to take his new Qatari-gifted plane out of the country was based on security concerns involving Iran.
“Well, I speak about it a lot because, you know, the life of a president is very dangerous ... It's a very dangerous profession," Trump said. "No, I'm number one on the kill list for Iran. They're lovely people, I'm number one, so I don't know, I can't tell you that."
- Trump boards old Air Force One in Turkey before sneaking onto another aircraft.
Trump boarded the old traditional Air Force One in Ankara at 8:24 local time.
The traveling White House press pool was not given additional information about the movements or flights back from Turkey beyond the president's publicly posted social media post, according to ABC News' Michelle Stoddart, who was a pool reporter for the trip.
Upon arrival at the airport in Ankara, the press pool vans were far back in the president’s motorcade, which is not unusual. Those in the press pool noted that the stairs were quickly pulled away from the front of the plane as press and some White House staff loaded on.
According to extraordinary details first divulged by the Post, after boarding Trump was transferred to a catering cart typically used to load food and beverages that can be seen in video of the departure on the tarmac. Footage shows the catering cart pulled away from Air Force One at 8:30 p.m. local time.
The old traditional Air Force One, carrying press and some White House staff, officially departed from Turkey for the United Kingdom at 8:43 p.m. local time. Once on board, the traveling press were instructed to keep the plane window shades closed.
- Arrival and departure at Mildenhall Air Force Base.
The old Air Force One touched down at Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom at 10:29 p.m. local time. The new Qatari-gifted jet sat a few hundred yards down the tarmac.
Details surrounding Trump's next moves remain unclear, but at some point he gets back onto the old Air Force One at Mildenhall and allows the press to capture the moment he disembarks the jet at 10:56 p.m. local time, creating the impression he’d been on board that plane all along.
He then swapped planes (for a third time) and boarded the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One at 11:01 p.m. local time and left for the United States at 11:14 p.m.
Trump posted a photo on his social media platform at 11:16 p.m. local time that showed members of the military posing for a photo in front of his new Qatari-gifted Air Force One.
- The flight back to the U.S.
Speaking to reporters shortly before the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One landed back in the United States, Trump insisted there was no security issue prompting him to fly the old traditional Air Force One from Turkey to the United Kingdom.
"No, no, no," Trump said, when asked if there was a security concern. "Why would there be?"
Moments later, however, he seemed to suggest there was a threat when reporters asked him why they were asked to keep their window shades down.
"Well, yeah, because you're, you know, probably on a dangerous flight, because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with," Trump said. "I mean, if they asked you to close your windows, probably they feel that way. They didn't ask me to close mine, but if they did, I would have done it. These are sick people, so I could see something like that."
Before Trump landed in the U.S., ABC News reported that the Secret Service urged President Trump to fly out of Turkey on the old traditional Air Force One instead of the new Qatari-gifted plane out of an abundance of caution amid the escalation with Iran, citing multiple sources familiar with the plans.
The change in plans was not prompted by a specific threat, but influenced in part by differences in the new Qatari-gifted plane's security capabilities, two U.S. officials told ABC News at the time.
The new Qatari-gifted Air Force One returned back at Joint Base Andrews at 1:12 a.m. ET.
July 9
- White House statement on 'distraction and misdirection.'
The day after Trump arrived back in the U.S., the White House responded to reports of the Secret Service recommendation Trump fly out of Turkey on the old Air Force One.
In a statement, the White House claimed they use "every tool at our disposal -- including distraction and misdirection -- to address those threats" from Iran.
"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. 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," White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
A month later, the Washington Post would be the first to report the details of the covert flight to protect the president.
ABC News' Justin Fishel contributed to this report.
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