Rubio and Bessent stayed on decoy flight from Turkey as Trump switched planes, official says
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent departed Turkey on a decoy plane following an Iranian threat, while President Donald Trump was secretly moved to a smaller military jet. A senior U.S.
The story so far
- Aug 11
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- Aug 13
How outlets cover it
5 outletsNot rated on the left–right scale. It describes Western party politics and doesn’t fit state media or outlets outside that system, so we show ownership and country instead.
Open questions and key claims
Trump had earlier said he was Iran's 'number one target' during the summit in Ankara.
The current administration had perpetuated an “outright lie” for weeks and turned reporters into “unwitting conspirators”.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran had made threats 'to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate' him.
Jose Zamora stated the Trump administration has a responsibility to ensure journalists are not unnecessarily exposed to danger.
It appears that the idea was we can reduce the danger to President Trump by offering up 100 or so people to be killed by the Iranians in his place.
Democrats are calling for a congressional briefing over Donald Trump's use of a decoy plane.
Trump switched planes at U.S. Air Force Base, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, England.
The trip occurred on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
Who and where
Related stories over time
same people and places- Jul 8 earlierTrump departs NATO summit on older Air Force One4 articles · 4 outlets
- Jul 8 – Jul 10 earlier
- Aug 11 – Aug 13◆ This story