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Members of Trump's cabinet remained on decoy plane, after Trump's quiet exit

BBC News · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 936 words · By Brandon Drenon; Bernd Debusmann Jr
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What to know about Members of Trump's cabinet remained on decoy plane, after Trump's quiet exit

Members of Trump's cabinet remained on decoy plane, after president's quiet exit - Published Two members of US President Donald Trump's cabinet flew on a decoy plane last month that Trump secretly exited in order to board a different flight, according to the…

Claims checked 16
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center67%
Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Members of Trump's cabinet remained on decoy plane, after president's quiet exit - Published Two members of US President Donald Trump's cabinet flew on a decoy plane last month that Trump secretly exited in order to board a different flight, according to the…

Why it matters

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained on board what was believed to be Air Force One - the term normally used to refer to the plane carrying the US president.

Common ground

They were travelling home from a Nato summit in Turkey.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g306eln8wo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 16 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 6
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
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Claim 1: “The elaborate ruse involved him hiding on a catering truck to move between the two aircraft on 8 July.”
CORROBORATED
Reports from AOL, Washington Post, and other news sources confirm the use of a catering truck to move the President between aircraft on July 8.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump assumed office as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, 2025. The president has the legal authority to nominate members of his cabinet to the United States Senate for con…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_cabinet_of_Donald_Trump
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. Trump, a Republican, previously served as the 45th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_presidency_of_Donald_Tr…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “the smaller aircraft that flew Trump out of the Turkish capital Ankara was reportedly also transporting Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including the Washington Post and other news reports, confirm that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled on the smaller aircraft (C-32A) with Trump.
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web search NEUTRAL — Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately, using an external ladder, in an attempt to make the flight appear to be a routine departure, according to the US official and other materia…
https://www.ilfoglio.it/en/world/2026/08/11/news/trumps-secr…
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web search NEUTRAL — Trump security breach, Iran agents tracked visit. Follow Bhaskar English Latest Updates. Iranian agents knew which building Trump was staying in at the NATO Summit held in Ankara, Turkey on July 7. Af…
https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/international/news/trump-secur…
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web search NEUTRAL — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was also transported to the C-32A. The reasoning for choosing where each member of the administration would go— whether they would remain in Air Force One or be transpor…
https://www.themirror.com/news/politics/photographer-reveals…
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Claim 3: “Two members of US President Donald Trump's cabinet flew on a decoy plane last month that Trump secretly exited in order to board a different flight”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (BBC, and other news reports) confirm that cabinet members remained on a decoy plane while President Trump secretly boarded a different flight from Ankara.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On July 13, 2024, Donald Trump, then a former president of the United States and the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party in the 2024 presidential election, survived an assassination attempt wh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Don…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “the White House informed USA Today reporter Susan Page - then the head of the White House Correspondent's Association - of the security arrangements.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “In March 2000, for example, then-President Bill Clinton flew to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on an unmarked executive jet that landed after a decoy jet with the livery of Air Force One.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 6: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained on board what was believed to be Air Force One”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly name Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as the individuals who remained on the decoy aircraft believed to be Air Force One.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential primaries and caucuses are going to be organized by the Republican Party to select delegates to the 2028 Republican National Convention to determine the party's nominee for president in t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2028_Republican_Party_presiden…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Marco Antonio Rubio ( ROO-bee-oh; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, attorney, and diplomat serving as the 72nd United States secretary of state since 2025. He is also the acting national s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Rubio
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_the…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 7: “In July, American officials who spoke to CNN, external said Israel had shared intelligence with the US of a specific plot by Iran to target Trump”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “According to the New York Times, citing unnamed officials, someone had been spotted carrying a portable surface-to-air missile in the vicinity of the Nato conference in the Turkish capital.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 9: “Trump was also accompanied by his executive assistant Natalie Harp, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, and Walt Nauta, director of Oval Office operations.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the presence of Natalie Harp, Dan Scavino, or Walt Nauta on the aircraft.
verified
Claim 10: “Others who stayed on the initial aircraft that remained designated as Air Force One included White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung, the White House's communications director.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the general event of the decoy plane is corroborated, the provided evidence for this specific claim consists of general Wikipedia definitions of 'White' and 'Chief of Staff' rather than reports confirming Stephen Miller and Steven Cheung were on the plane.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Deputy Chief of Staff and similar titles can refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_Chief_of_Staff
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The White House chief of staff is the head of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, a position in the federal government of the United States. The chief of staff is a political a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Chief_of_Staff
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The White House deputy chief of staff is officially the top aide to the White House chief of staff, who is the senior aide to the president of the United States. The deputy chief of staff usually has …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Deputy_Chief_of_St…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 11: “The separate flight was provided to Trump due to a perceived security threat posed by Iran.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple reports (AOL, Washington Post via web search, and other news updates) state the secret flight was a response to security threats posed by Iran.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — List of presidents of the United States The White House 's north and south sides, official residence of the president of the United States The president of the United States is the head of state and h…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Un…
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web search NEUTRAL — The president of the United States (POTUS) [b] is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the command…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_Stat…
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web search NEUTRAL — This is a list of people who have served as President of the United States. As of 2025, there have been 45 men sworn into office and 47 presidencies; there have been more presidencies than people swor…
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_th…
schedule
Claim 12: “One official told the Washington Post, external that the CIA saw the warnings as "Israeli-derived, not US-generated, and viewed [them] as low confidence".”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 13: “In the event that the president dies or is incapacitated, Vice-President JD Vance would take power, followed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. The secretary of state comes next in line, followed by the treasury secretary.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The US presidential line of succession is a matter of public law and is confirmed by Wikipedia references regarding the Vice President and the general structure of the executive branch.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The vice president of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the United States federal government after the president of the United States. The vice president also …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vice_presidents_of_the…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Vice President of India (ISO: Bhārata Ke Uparāṣṭrapati) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_India
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS, VP, or informally veep) is the second-highest office in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice_President_of_the_United_S…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 14: “The threat was related to a shoulder-mounted missile launcher, multiple US outlets reported”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 15: “They were travelling home from a Nato summit in Turkey.”
CORROBORATED
AP, NPR, and The Guardian all confirm the flight occurred while traveling home from a NATO summit in Turkey.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump flew partway home from a NATO summit in Turkey on an old baby blue Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blu…
https://www.wbko.com/2026/07/09/trump-uses-old-air-force-one…
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web search NEUTRAL — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump flew partway home from a NATO summit in Turkey on an old baby blue Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet…
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/09/nx-s1-5887064/trump-air-force…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Europe edition. The Guardian - Back to home.The trip to the Nato summit was the first international travel for the new plane, whose speedy upgrades triggered questions over its cost and security, and …
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/10/trump-secret…
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Claim 16: “Trump said the decision to undertake the deception was made by the US military and the Secret Service”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a specific statement by Trump attributing the decision to the US military and Secret Service.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.