PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 11th, 2026: Inside Trump’s Secret Escape From an Iranian Assassination Threat & Chinese Spies Target U.S. Forces

**Mike Baker** (0:11)
It's Tuesday, the 11th of August. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon, well, okay, let's call it early evening, bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, new details reveal how President Trump was hidden inside an airport catering truck and spirited onto a secret military aircraft in the face of what was deemed a credible Iranian assassination threat. Later in the show, two former Chinese soldiers are arrested in South Korea, accused of intercepting communications between US and South Korean fighter jets and tracking American weapons movements. But first, today's afternoon, well, let's call it early evening, shall we spotlight? We're learning new details about the elaborate security operation used to get President Trump out of Turkey last month amid a credible Iranian assassination threat, including how the president was hidden inside an airport catering truck and driven across the tarmac to a military aircraft for transport out of Turkey. The operation took place last month as Trump departed the NATO summit in Ankara. And it turns out the aircraft switch we reported at the time was far more elaborate than anybody knew. The public story was that Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard the newer Boeing 747 that was gifted to the US by Qatar, but decided to begin the trip home aboard the legacy or the older Air Force One. Trump said he wanted to fly on the older plane, quote, for old time's sake, and to give American troops stationed in England a chance to see the newer aircraft. But according to new reporting from the Washington Post, Trump never actually flew out of Turkey aboard the legacy plane. Instead, it was used as a decoy. The operation began with the Qatari-provided aircraft departing Ankara early on the evening of the 8th of July.
Trump then arrived at the airport and climbed the stairs of the legacy or old blue and white Air Force One in full view of television cameras. He waved from the entrance, that's jolly, before disappearing inside. But this is where the old switcheroo happened. On the opposite side of the plane, you know how you walk up those stairs and right in front of you there's another door, hidden from the camera as an airport catering truck had been raised hydraulically to the level of the other door. Trump and several aides stepped into the truck's elevated container where they helped themselves to some of the catering food. I just made that up, I don't know if they did, actually. It was lowered onto the vehicle and then driven across the tarmac to a smaller Air Force C-32A. That's a modified Boeing 757 used to transport senior government officials. Meanwhile, journalists and some White House staff members boarded the legacy Air Force One, believing that the President was traveling with them. They were instructed to close their window shades before takeoff, which was a bit of an unusual step. Trump's actual aircraft then flew to Britain using the nondescript military call sign REACH 18
Its public tracking systems were switched off. The legacy plane carrying the press and White House staff eventually began broadcasting the Air Force One call sign, even though the president was not on board. Now, Air Force One is technically not the name of a specific aircraft. It's the call sign that's assigned to any Air Force plane carrying the president.
Once the planes reached RAF Mildenhall in the UK, the deception apparently continued. Now, it remains unclear exactly how Trump moved between the aircraft, but he eventually appeared before cameras descending the stairs of the legacy Air Force One, creating the impression that he had just arrived aboard it. Trump greeted American service members and then boarded the newer Qatari-provided jet for the final flight to Washington, DC.
The White House later posted that Trump had landed in Britain aboard the former Air Force One. That account remained in place until the Post published its investigation Monday evening. The White House has not directly disputed the reporting. Instead, officials issued a statement defending the Qatari aircraft as safe and equipped with high-level security protocols. The airplane switcheroo, which is a technical term, demonstrates just how seriously American officials viewed the Iranian threat. Trump was leaving Turkey one night after the US renewed its strikes against Iran, following another breakdown in negotiations. Turkey also shares a border with Iran. And of course, Tehran has spent years threatening Trump and other American officials connected to the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
Now, there is precedent for using presidential aircraft as decoys. Bill Clinton employed a similar deception during a dangerous visit to Pakistan in the year 2000 Former officials say Air Force One has occasionally served as a decoy during other sensitive missions. But this operation also unfolded just days after Trump began using the former Qatari jet as Air Force One.