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Updated on: August 12, 2026 / 9:26 AM EDT
/ CBS News
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was with President Trump last month when he secretly took a different plane from the publicly identified Air Force One aircraft from the NATO summit, according to sources familiar with the situation. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were on the decoy flight. The secretaries, who separated and maintained the line of succession, were aware the president was on another, secret plane. White House aides Natalie Harp, Walt Nauta, and Dan Scavino were on the flight with Mr. Trump. On July 8, Mr. Trump announced he would leave Ankara in the old Air Force One rather than a newer Qatari-donated jet that he had taken to the NATO summit. The president said he was switching planes "for old time's sake," and U.S. forces stationed at a British refueling stop would be able to check out the new plane, but CBS News has reported that the Secret Service advised he take the older plane for security reasons. Mr. Trump told CBS News' Nancy Cordes on Tuesday night that the decision to take the secret flight was made by the military and Secret Service, who "wanted me to go in a different flight."Mr. Trump said it was in response to a threat, which he called unsurprising, noting that he gets "a lot of threats.""Any consequential president has a lot of threats," Mr. Trump told reporters.
