Trump’s Air Force One deception faces scrutiny over ‘decoy’ passengers

<p>Journalists and others were allowed to fly on presidential jet despite security threat while Trump was spirited away</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email</a><em> </em></p></li></ul><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/democrats">Democrats</a> called on Tuesday for a congressional briefing over a stunning charade in which Donald Trump was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/trump-secret-flight-nato-return">secretly spirited to a different plane</a> than the one the public and press believed he was travelling on. Critics now question why reporters and the public had been deliberately misled.</p><p>When US intelligence allegedly found a credible threat that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/iran">Iran</a> plotted to kill him last month, Trump left Air Force One in a catering truck, an episode first reported <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/10/trump-flew-secrecy-amid-iran-threat-air-force-one-became-decoy/">by the Washington Post</a> and also by the New York Times. While the president was reportedly snuck out the side door of the plane, more than a hundred aides, officials and reporters were kept onboard to fly towards Britain, without being told there was a threat to their lives.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/11/trump-air-force-one-deception-democrats">Continue reading...</a>