President Donald Trump addressed questions about why he is flying back to Washington, DC, on the old Air Force One following the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. Amid Iranian threats, Trump clarified that his decision is not due to security concerns but because the new Air Force One is being sent to the United Kingdom.

"It's flying to Europe, to one of the big bases," Trump said, noting the aircraft will stop at "two or three of the big bases where we can show it to the people."

In a Truth Social post, Trump explained the new plane is headed to Mildenhall Air Force Base in the UK to honor U.S. troops by allowing them to tour the "brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One."

"For old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey to Mildenhall, a short trip that is totally worth doing in order to give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force Fleet!" he added.

Trump also acknowledged that Iran has made him a top assassination target but emphasized that his choice of aircraft for the return flight is unrelated to security concerns.

Sources