Trump's decoy departure: cabinet stays aboard as president leaves on separate plane
Two Trump cabinet members—Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent—remained on a decoy plane while Trump secretly boarded a second aircraft after arriving in Ankara, a maneuver meant to preserve the line of succession amid an unspecified threat; the first aircraft retained the Air Force One call sign, and other staff were aboard the decoy, with Trump saying the move was arranged by the military and Secret Service. Decoy flights and shell games are common on high-risk trips, with historical examples such as Clinton's 2000 decoy flight; the White House has not publicly commented.
