Trump Leaves Cabinet Officials Behind on Decoy Plane.

Trump left last month's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, aboard a covert Air Force C-32A while security officials used the older Air Force One jet as a decoy, according to a Washington Post report. The operation was triggered by a credible Iranian assassination threat against the president.

• Trump boarded an older Air Force One in view of TV cameras before the switch.
• Minutes later, a hydraulic catering truck moved Trump and several aides to the C-32A.
• Reporters aboard the decoy jet were told to lower window shades before takeoff.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the secret flight separately via external stairs.

Why it matters: U.S. forces had conducted large strikes inside Iran during Trump's Turkey visit; intelligence officials had separately flagged a threat against Trump or his aircraft, as previously reported by the New York Times and CBS News.

• The Wall Street Journal had reported that Israel tipped off the U.S. about a potential Iranian plot targeting Trump.
• Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service special agent, called the maneuver unusual but not unprecedented, saying it could reflect specific intelligence or heightened caution amid regional instability.

How 85 sources split on this story

Where they split: Coverage agrees on what happened but divides on whether the Qatari-gifted plane's security — and the White House's earlier denials that the plane switch was threat-related — represent a problem.

What’s next: Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for a congressional investigation, describing the episode as "unprecedented and surreal."

• The White House says the Qatari-gifted plane is "state-of-the-art" and has high-level security protocols in place.
• How exactly Trump transferred from the C-32A back to Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall remains unreported.
• Whether the nature of the Iranian threat was specific enough to have warranted deceiving the traveling press corps has not been addressed by officials.
• What security upgrades to the Qatari-gifted jet have been completed, and whether they are sufficient, is unconfirmed.