ANKARA, Türkiye, July 8 (DC Times Online) — President Donald Trump said he would not fly back on the new Air Force One because the plane was being sent to Mildenhall Air Force Base in the United Kingdom so U.S. service members could tour it, while he returned on an older presidential aircraft.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the brand-new aircraft was going to the base “to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft” and said he would take the former Air Force One “for old time’s sake.” He also said the plane would stop at other bases so troops could see it.
Trump made the comments after the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, where he said presidential life is dangerous and that he is a target for Iran. He said he was “No. 1 on the kill list for Iran,” and called himself “their number one target.”
Trump said the aircraft visit was meant as a tribute to the military, not a security move. He said the new plane is “truly magnificent” and that service members should be the first to see it.
The remarks came amid Trump’s repeated public warnings about threats from Iran. He has previously said the United States would add sanctions on Iran, according to an archived White House statement from 2019.
