FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump boards the new, Qatari-gifted Air Force One after arriving on one of the older planes operating as Air Force One, to return to Washington after his participation in a NATO leaders summit in Turkey, at RAF Mildenhall, in Suffolk, Britain, July 8, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
President Donald Trump left Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials aboard a "decoy" Air Force One while he secretly boarded a smaller C-32A military jet Saturday.
Trump set social media ablaze Wednesday after reports revealed he left the NATO summit in Turkey due to an Iranian assassination threat.
According to the New York Times, Trump was smuggled out in a catering truck, as Secretary of State Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, adviser Stephen Miller, and communications chief Steven Cheung remained on the "decoy" Air Force One.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, body man Walt Nauta, former caddy Dan Scavino, and executive assistant Natalie Harp accompanied Trump on the C-32A military jet.
In a separate report, the New York Times characterized the arrangement as leaving senior officials as "sacrificial lambs" on a targeted plane, with some unaware of the situation.
Former President Barack Obama's adviser, Dan Pfeiffer, suggested, "Trump potentially sacrificing Rubio to the Iranians while sparing Hegseth is something that I hope keeps Rubio up at night."
Watch the video below.