A plane-swap ruse involving Trump has left over a hundred people on Air Force One, despite alleged threats for the plane to be shot down.

The president had been visiting Türkiye, which borders Iran, for a NATO summit where they received word from Israel of an Iranian plan to shoot his plane out of the sky.

Trump had previously boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in front of TV cameras before moving to another smaller plane secretly, using a catering truck to conceal the switch to the new Air Force One plane, a Boeing 747-8 gifted by the Qatari Government.

He flew to Türkiye in the Boeing 747-8, but announced at the summit that he would take the older Air Force One. The plane had been carrying journalists and white house staff who were unaware of the president’s removal from the plane.

Questions about the ethics of the ruse have been raised by many who have suggested that the Air Force One had been used as a “decoy” despite continuing on its flight path with hundreds of people on board.

White House Communications Director Steve Cheung provided a statement to The Washington Post, defending the decision and insisting that the safety of the president is paramount.

“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 to address those threats.”

Photo: Air Force One leaves Albany International Airport by Paul Gallo is available HERE and used under a Creative Commons License. This image has been cropped.