New revelations have emerged about what happened on the afternoon of July 8 in Turkey, when U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to board Air Force One — only for it to be revealed that he had been secretly whisked away in a catering truck to travel on a separate aircraft, after U.S. intelligence agencies received information about an Iranian plot to target the American president.
According to reports from CNN and NBC, Trump chose to travel with him — and therefore in greater safety — his personal aide and frequent travel companion Natalie Harp, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, and Oval Office operations director Walt Nauta.
“Trump’s first choice to accompany him”
A source cited by the Daily Mail said that the choice of 35-year-old Harp to travel safely alongside the president was a natural one. A second source said she was Trump’s “first choice” to accompany him. “There is no one closer to the president on his team,” the source explained, referring to Trump’s relationship with Harp, who has been nicknamed his “human printer” due to her habit of handing him printed copies of articles and social media posts she wants the president to read.
A separate source familiar with the movement described Harp, Nauta, and Scavino as Trump’s three “bodyguards.”
By contrast, those who remained aboard Air Force One included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and White House communications director Steven Cheung.
According to CBS, Rubio and Bessent remained on the presidential aircraft in order to preserve the line of succession in the event something happened to Trump. According to the same source, should the president die or become incapacitated, power would transfer to Vice President JD Vance, followed by the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate — with the Secretary of State coming next, followed by the Treasury Secretary.
Sources cited by international networks report that Rubio and Bessent were aware of Trump’s secret alternative route. “Some cabinet members were willing to risk their lives for the president,” revealed a source close to Rubio, who then posed the question: “Can the same be said for everyone on that plane?”
The same source confirmed that senior cabinet members, including Rubio, were fully aware that Trump was not on Air Force One, though even they “were not certain” about who else was traveling with him.
Also aboard the flight that served as a “decoy” for any potential Iranian strike were deputy national security adviser Mike Needham, White House staff secretary Will Scharf, speechwriter Ross Worthington, Trump’s personal aide Chris Ambrosini, and deputy chief of staff Richard Walters.
