Trump ‘forced to switch to old Air Force One' over 'security concerns linked to Qatar gifted jet’
The US President made a last-minute stop at RAF Mildenhall after a request was made by the Secret Service not to use the new Qatar-donated aircraft.
Donald Trump was forced to switch aircraft at RAF Mildenhall on Wednesday following a request from the US Secret Service not to use the new incarnation of Air Force One, which was gifted to him by Qatar.
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The US President was seen to make an unexpected pitstop in Suffolk on Wednesday night after initially setting off from Ankara, Turkey, following Nato's conference, aboard the original Air Force One jet.
During the brief stop in Britain, Trump disembarked the older aircraft in order to board the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet, his preferred aircraft that brought him to Europe, in order to continue his journey to Washington.
It comes after the US Secret Service reportedly flagged security concerns following the breakdown of the ceasefire agreement with Iran, a nation that borders Turkey.
The new plane, a Boeing 747-8, had inferior security features compared to the older model of aircraft, according to The New York Times.
The source also said that the decision to swap planes was precautionary, rather than in response to a specific threat.
Read more: Trump says Iran ‘wants to make a deal so badly’ as US launches ‘retribution’ strikes
The trip to Turkey for the NATO summit was the first international trip the president had taken aboard the new plane.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would leave the NATO summit on the older version of Air Force One because the new plane was flying to a couple of bases in Europe so soldiers could see it.
Taking to his social media platform Truth Social, the US President noted he would use an older baby blue Air Force One plane "for old time's sake".
Video emerging late on Wednesday showed Trump disembarking the old aircraft and boarding the new Qatar-gifted jet as it prepared to fly to the US.
It comes after Trump declared the ceasefire 'over' on Wednesday, with the US conducting widespread strikes on Iran.
The new Boeing 747, with a red, white, dark blue and gold livery picked by the US President, was refitted amid security concerns by defense contractor L3Harris Technologies.
Trump was also seen to insist that Iran ‘wants to make a deal so badly’.
Earlier in the day, President Trump made two significant fumbles while addressing the press at a NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday.
He claimed: “We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan. They were shot at the aircraft carrier."
He then sat alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and asked the press, “You have a question for President Putin, please?”
The reporters present laughed, and some attempted to correct the US President, who worked to cover up his error by insisting it wasn’t what he meant.