Donald Trump forced off new Air Force One over threat to his life from Iran

Donald Trump has been forced to fly to Britain on the old Air Force One after threats to his life from Iran.

The President was given a $400million aircraft from the Qatari Government to replace the previous jet, a Boeing VC-25A, which has been in operation since 1990.

The new Air Force One, a Boeing VC-25B Bridge, took its first international trip to the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey - but did not fly back to Britain on the same plane.

Instead, in a statement on Truth Social, he said he was taking the previous Air Force One for "old time's sake" to fly from Turkey to RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, which primarily supports US Air Force operations.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

The new Qatari-gifted Air Force One was flown separately to the British base.

As he arrived in the UK, the President said: "We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire base's request."

He said the troops at the Royal Air Force base were "very excited" to see the new aircraft, adding that the base was "on our way back to the States from Turkey".

Earlier, the President announced that airmen at Mildenhall would be the "first" to see the newly-gifted Air Force One.

"To honour our brave men and women of the military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft - Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first," the President said.

He added that it was 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!".

Reporters asked Mr Trump if the previous Air Force One was being taken "because of security concerns involving Iran", noting the President had mentioned the possibility of being assassinated by Iran twice earlier.

The President did not directly address the change in flight plan, but addressed concerns of his assassination.

LATEST FROM THE WHITE HOUSE:

• Donald Trump blasts ‘very disappointing’ Nato allies as he hails ‘friend’ Turkish President
• Donald Trump explains Folarin Balogun red card situation after Gianni Infantino phone call
• Donald Trump pokes fun at British surrender and rings in 'golden age of America' on Independence Day

Mr Trump said: "I speak about it a lot because the life of a President is very dangerous."

He added he was "number one on the kill list for Iran," noting that he preferred being "number one on TikTok".

The remarks were made as the President ordered a new round of strikes on Iran, declaring that the ceasefire was over.

Mr Trump earlier said Iran wanted to "take out the US leader, me, I'm on every list".

"I'm on every single one of their lists, and so far I guess I've been a little bit lucky, but that maybe doesn't last very long, because that's the way it goes," he added.

Democrats have criticised the new Qatari liner, which is expected to be retired at the end of the President's second term, with concerns over security and claims conflicts of interest.

White House staff shared emotional tributes in June as it the old Air Force One took its "final" trip, with the President claiming that its "age was finally catching up to it" and he was likely to "do the museum thing" to the Boeing VC-25A.

The plane - which first served George HW Bush - was described as a "faithful servant" by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, meanwhile, said he was "fortunate to fly around the world on this iconic plane for five and a half years".

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter