President Donald Trump secretly switched to a different aircraft on a trip last month, using a decoy plane to carry the White House press pool, security personnel, and support staff ahead of him, according to reports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were also on the decoy flight, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew with Trump on the real aircraft.
Before the split, Trump told reporters they were on a "dangerous flight"—a remark that gained new significance when it became clear their plane was a decoy. The primary aircraft was sent into the sky first to serve as a decoy, presumably to draw attention away from the president's actual departure and protect his movements. The reports do not specify the destination or purpose of the trip, nor do they say where the president went.
Decoy flights are a known security tactic used to confuse potential threats about a president's location. The White House has not publicly commented on the episode.