Trump left government members inside Air Force One that was acting as bait in the face of the threat of an Iranian attack

WashingtonThe journalists accompanying the US President, Donald Trump, on the return flight from Turkey were not the only ones who remained inside Air Force One threatened while the Republican secretly took another plane.US government officials were on board the decoy aircraft, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to US government sources revealed to the "New York Times.Normally, when the US president boards one of the White House's various jets, it officially becomes Air Force One. But on this occasion, when the Republican clandestinely left the old Boeing to board Air Force C-32, the name was not changed. Even though Trump was not on board the aircraft, the old model continued to be called Air Force One so that it would act as a decoy for the Iranians.

In addition to Rubio and Bessent, other administration members were on the decoy plane: Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller; Communications Director Steven Cheung; Personnel Secretary Will Scharf; Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Needham and Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Walters, as well as staff from the White House working teams. The journalists and some government members who remained on the old Air Force One did not know that the president had left through the back door with the catering truck. It is not clear if senior officials like Rubio, Bessent, or Miller had been informed of the situation.

This morning, Miller entered the White House, avoiding journalists' questions about the revelation of the secret service operation and the decision to expose them all to the threat of a possible attack.

Trump had already confirmed the existence of the mission yesterday and disassociated himself from its management. "I am guided by the secret service and the military. They wanted me to take a different flight, a different plane," the tycoon told reporters. "I just have to do what they tell me," he insisted yesterday as discontent grew over the decision to leave so many people on Air Force One threatened by the Iranians.

The US administration has not yet provided details about the threat in question, but government officials have revealed to the New York Times that they detected a "specific threat that a surface-to-air missile would be launched against Air Force One." Furthermore, according to the same media outlet, the leader's security received a warning that a person had been seen "around the NATO summit with a portable missile launcher on their shoulder."

All in all, it was enough for the secret service to launch the operation. After Trump had survived three assassination attempts, the security corps' effectiveness had been called into question on several occasions. Thus, the security corps decided to transfer the tycoon to Air Force C-32, where he flew accompanied by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

Coinciding with the controversial operation, yesterday the spokeswoman for the White House, Karoline Leavitt, announced that she was leaving her post to dedicate herself to her family. The press secretary, the youngest in history at 28 years old, recently had her second child and had already been on maternity leave. Trump was the one who initially announced her departure and has not yet proposed a name to replace her at the end of the month, when she officially leaves office. Leavitt's departure is not surprising given the high regard the tycoon has for her.