The US president flew to Turkey onboard the new $400 million Air Force One aircraft, which was controversially gifted by the Qatari government last year.
Interestingly, Trump chose to switch planes when it came to his return back to Washington, instead deciding to fly partway on an old baby blue Air Force one instead.
Unsurprisingly, the president has offered little in the way of explanation for the move, writing on social media that he was flying the legacy aircraft ‘for old time’s sake’.
Meanwhile, he revealed that the new jet had been sent to RAF Mildenhall in the UK, to show the aircraft off to US service members.
He then boarded the Qatari jet for the remainder of the journey, from the UK back to Washington.
“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 wrote on Truth Social.
“They were very excited, picture enclosed. It was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.”
Extra security precautions in the Middle East
Many people suggested that the flight switch up was actually a security measure for the president relating to Iran.
But when asked about whether he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, he said: “I have a threat all the time. I’m number one on their list.”
After Trump departed Turkey, consumer flight trackers were unable to monitor the jet’s movements, suggesting the plane’s transponder had been temporarily disabled by the crew.
This is a security measure frequently used when transporting Trump to and from high risk environments like war zones, and would not typically be used for traveling from events such as a NATO Leaders Summit.
Trump event went as far as having his presidential limousine brought over to Turkey via the Atlantic Ocean.
He and his team all stayed in hotels right next to the US Embassy with no other guests allowed to stay there while they do.
Trump’s excrement flown back to the US
With Trump’s recent return to Washington, a very strange politician protocol has once again come up in public conversation, and it involves the president’s poop.
That’s because whenever Trump travels overseas, like during his stint in Turkey, his waste product never actually touches foreign soil.
Instead, it is collected into his personal toilet system, under the watchful eye of his accompanying members of the Secret Service.
What a privilege for them, huh.
But, why? Well, it’s actually a long established security measure, dating back much further than Trump’s tenure, which aims to prevent the president’s excrement from being exploited.
According to the HuffPost, George W. Bush used similar protocols during a trip to Vienna in 2006, which even saw his toilet paper flown back to the US Air Base at Ramstein.
And US presidents aren’t the only one at it.
Vladimir Putin’s team are said to collect his fecal matter in special bags, before packing it all up in suitcases and flying it back to Russia, according to French journalists Regis Gente and Mikhail Rubin.
And it’s no wonder the Russian president felt this was a necessary precaution given the fact that Stalin is said to have tested the faeces of Mao Zedong in a bid to try and gain information about his health.While no government has actually confirmed these practices, there is a logical rationale that it protects both security and intelligence, as human waste contains DNA, as well as a plethora of information about a person’s health, any medications or drug use and data regarding their microbiome.