'This Is a Cover Story': Leon Panetta Says Trump Is Hiding the True Reason Behind Air Force One Switch

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MEDIAite

Jul 8th, 2026, 3:30 pm


Former CIA Director Leon Panetta wasn’t buying President Donald Trump‘s excuse for switching planes for his journey home from the NATO Summit in Turkey. On Wednesday, Shawn McCreesh of The New York Times asked Trump during a news conference in Ankara why he wasn’t flying the much-ballyhooed new Air Force One home.

The $400 million jet was a gift from the Qatari government and has long prompted security concerns. “It’s flying to Europe to one of the big bases, two or three of the big bases where we can show it to the people,” Trump said. “And we’ll be going home by normal methods. But we, we have it going to Europe to a couple of bases, actually one in particular, but it’s going to go to a couple of bases so the soldiers can see it because it’s truly magnificent.”

Panetta, who served under President Barack Obama, appeared on MS NOW’s The Moment with Katy Tur Wednesday — and he wasn’t buying it:

LEON PANETTA: You know, I’ve always been concerned about security issues with this kind of plane that’s built by another country, regardless of the fact that that country, we may have good relations with that country. The fact is that for from a security point of view, you have got to be concerned that there are going to be efforts to try to gather intelligence.

Read more: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/this-is-a-cover-story-leon-panetta-says-trump-is-hiding-the-true-reason-behind-air-force-one-switch/

[modrepub]

1. I Know What He Means

But the thought of gathering "intelligence" from Trump made me

Why bug his plane? He pretty much just says whatever he wants regardless of what secrets he shouldn't be sharing publicly.

[Skittles]

2. INDEED

stupid fuck is always shooting off his mouth, a mixture of gibberish and classified info - it never fucking ends

[rubbersole]

4. Selling state secrets is donnie's grift.

He wants his cut if somebody is bugging him. It wouldn't surprise me to discover Putin told him where to place listening devices on that 90 minute phone call.

[Skittles]

5. not only that

Dementia Donald is so out of it most of the time who knows what he is telling people and what they are telling him.

[JT45242]

21. I was thinking good luck finding anyone with intelligence in Mango Mussolini's circle --

But educator speak for intelligence and spy/military terms for intelligence are very different.

Information probably -- smarts, not a snowball's chance in hell

[AZ8theist]

3. They don't need this plane to gather intelligence....

Just buy a membership to Merde Lardo and use the bathroom.

You'll find every piece of intelligence you ever wanted there.

[Skittles]

6. his bootlicking staff would be easy marks too

it's not like they were hired for their intelligence and competence

[QueerDuck]

7. I imagined that the gifted jet had "homing beacons" that drones or missiles could follow. Or...

... that the flight controls could be remotely disabled and sent into an uncontrolled nosedive. Or that the countermeasures (if any ever existed) could also be disabled. The on-board wifi could have had a key-logger that captured text messages and passwords.

What a fucking waste of money... all for an fragile little ego.

[jmowreader]

38. I can almost guarantee the "uncontrolled nosedive" thing would have never been installed

Killing off Trump means he's replaced with someone who won't be our frenemies' lapdog.

On the other hand, the keylogger system is a definite possibility, as are satellite feeds that send any audio from inside the plane to a collection bird for relay to the Kremlin.

[OldBaldy1701E]

8. Uh huh.

More like keeping it from being secured here. He is convinced that this is his plane and once he is out of office, that he will just keep it.

Like a lot of other things he has done during his time in the Oval Office. I would not be surprised if he wanted to empty out the White House once he leaves.

Just as I would not be surprised if we let him.

[Orrex]

9. Of course they'll find no intelligence in Trump, so there's that

[Hugin]

10. My guess is that it lacks the medical suite of a full fledged AF1.

And… It was outfitted by the highest no-bid contract.

Pathetic.

Throw a tarp over it.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. I expect it can't refuel while in flight either

IIIRC, on 9/11, when they had Shrub up in the air for hours and hours in AF1 due to not knowing how many planes were co-opted as weapons, there was a fuel jet in the convoy with the fighter jets escorting AF1.

[Deminpenn]

45. Heard on MSNOW last night that the new plane doesn't have refueling capabiluty

nor does it have defensive capabilities.

[twodogsbarking]

11. Anyone believe Trump's story? Anyone? Didn't think so.

[mobeau69]

28. He can't even lie worth a fuck.

[purr-rat beauty]

12. I want receipts

How much tax payers dollars went into this fucking albatross

That should be IMPEACHABLE shit.

It was a completely unnecessary and expensive expenditure.

[Hugin]

13. I'm torn between calling it...

An albatross or a Potemkin Chicken.

[returnee]

14. That was always the issue.

Trump is a traitor. God knows what intel he’s already given away. I would suggest a case could be made for Aileen Cannon suborning treason.

[jeffreyi]

15. Great timing.

Y'know. The big movie. Something about a horse.

[DrFunkenstein]

17. Is It Because The Medical Facilities Are Better On The Old One?

Perhaps there was a health scare.

[Peacetrain]

30. That was my first thought...he was gasping for air the other day..he is not a well man

[Ol Janx Spirit]

18. They've had plenty of time to do a thorough sweep for things like homing beacons...

...which also by nature need to emit some sort of signal--RF, acoustic, EMF, optical--which should make them easier to detect than merely intelligence gathering sensors.

My suspicion is that the hurried retrofitting of the aircraft means that it does not posses the full defensive capabilities of the VC-25A and someone finally lost enough sleep over it to grow a spine after seeing how effective Iran has been with the very limited resources they still have. Believing a handheld rocket of some sort could bring down the underdefended Graft Force One is likely what caused this panic.

It is also interesting that "passengers on the aircraft were instructed to keep their windows down during the flight, and according to flight data, the plane carrying the president did not turn on its tracker until it was over the Black Sea near Istanbul." ( https://abcnews.com/Politics/secret-service-urged-trump-depart-turkey-air-force/story?id=134606227 )

Why did passengers have to keep their window shades down?

[moniss]

25. Light. nt

[Talitha]

19. How many 'gift' boxes of documents did he leave in the shitter?

[chouchou]

20. "going to be efforts to try to gather intelligence."

Ah..Quite frankly, Donald Trump would be on the Jet....which means there's zero Intelligence.

[SpankMe]

22. Bugging is only a small part of it

(And Panetta misspoke a bit about the plane being built in "another country". It was built by Boeing in the US. The interiors, however, were installed in another country. Minor point. But, still.)

Aircraft procured for presidential use are monitored throughout the entire manufacturing process, or are thoroughly inspected to the point of nearly being disassembled before they're certified for use by POTUS. Most of the lifetime of the Qatari 747 so far has been spent outside of this monitoring window. So, nothing can be trusted. Most of a presidential aircraft is essentially a SCIF for open discussion of sensitive topics.

Behind the panels and under the floors are wiring bundles so numerous and complex, anything could be hidden in there - bugging devices, cutters, poisons, acids, communications, anything. It would be impossible to properly inspect all of it without removing it all and going through it strand by strand. Did they do that?

Every electronic box in the plane - from avionics to the panels that operate ovens - could have circuitry in them, right down to the circuit board - or even chip - level, that could be used to monitor, commandeer or disable that device or the whole aircraft. There are hundreds of boxes in the plane. Did they remove every one and test them?

There could be secret fuel cut-off valves installed in the engines that could be remotely actuated.

Did they inspect every cubic inch of the fuel tanks? Could be explosives in there. Or capsules of corrosive agents that could release over time and eat the fuel tank walls or contaminate the fuel at random times causing engines to malfuntion over the Atlantic.

Tracking devices can be as small as a sugar cube. Have they inspected every interior volume - the wings, the vertical stabilizer, the engine nacelles - for the presence of questionable or unknown devices? This is a true needle in a haystack.

Has the plane been swept for radioactive materials? Pellets of - or even dust treated with - polonium could be placed anywhere to gradually drag down the health of anyone on the plane.

The Qatari AF1 is a literal Trojan Horse. The military was stupid for even considering letting US leaders fly on the plane. I'm surprised they could find legit military pilots willing to fly it.

[QueerDuck]

26. Thank you very much for your detailed and insightful analysis. 🇺🇸

[usonian]

29. find legit military pilots? Nothing but the best!

[AllaN01Bear]

34. i see what u did there !!!!

otto pilot.

[FakeNoose]

31. Maybe they flew a Chump "double" on the way over there, just to see if anything would go wrong?

I don't know, but it's possible. You've outlined a lot of stuff that could have happened ... and there's a lot the secret service doesn't know about this plane.

If there really is a Chump "double" he would have had to disappear as soon as the real Chump arrives. But that wouldn't have been too hard, I don't think. All the TV cameras were pointed at the real one, not at the "double."

[NJCher]

35. surely close to a billion

would have covered what you posted, which, btw, shows a good deal of imagination. Glad we have you on our side.

The true amount is classified but it could have been nearly a billion. Snopes.

[underpants]

36. Great post. Sounds like another Trump rush job like the Reflecting Pool

of course this is much more serious

[Bluetus]

43. But none of that answers the simple questions:

Why was it OK to fly the play INTO Turkey, but not out?

Why was it OK for Trump to board it in the UK for the trip back to DC?

[Deminpenn]

46. Just to add, when the Presidential aircraft need repairs, they always have brand new

replacement parts, never refurbished parts.

[travelingthrulife]

23. This is why he shouldn't be allowed to build his 'ballroom'.

It will be loaded to the gills with spyware.

[moniss]

24. Maybe the CIA or SS

found the "communications" devices.

[Historic NY]

27. In double speak that plane is a big fat target 🎯

I seriously doubt that its has very little defensive or evasive systems on it. Iran, Turkey's neighbor has lots of big fat missiles that would love a juicy target. They have already shown their ability to reach far away targets, and are itching for revenge.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

32. MS NOW-Officials say Trump switched out new Air Force One over security concerns

Rising hostilities with Iran required President Donald Trump to shift to his original, more advanced presidential aircraft.

Whether it is a Reflecting Pool, the economy, or a 747, Donald Trump is shockingly incompetent at making things work.

— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social) 2026-07-09T13:16:07.073Z

https://www.ms.now/news/officials-say-trump-switched-out-new-air-force-one-over-security-concerns

Trump’s earlier choice to use the gifted Qatari jet as a primary presidential aircraft has been controversial because the gifted plane lacks key military defenses of the original Air Force One, including the ability to refuel mid-air and missile-defense systems, according to a law enforcement official briefed on its capabilities.

The original Air Force One — a Boeing VC-25A from the early 1990s — is a unique military plane outfitted with these capabilities.

Link to tweet

The main concern Wednesday was the president’s need to use the command-and-control functions of the original Air Force One, according to two other former security officials. Those systems turn the plane into a “flying situation room,” allowing the president to receive classified intelligence briefings, communicate securely and give orders to military officers around the world.

The Qatari Boeing VC-25B — originally manufactured as a passenger jet in 2012 — does not have some of the original Air Force One’s equipment, and some of the jet’s capabilities have not been fully tested, the sources added.

“This plane was built for aesthetics, not mission,” one former national security official said. “We know about its paint, its leather seats. But we don’t know its capabilities.” ....

National security officials say it typically takes years, as well as billions of dollars, to make an Air Force One aircraft safe and secure — time and money that was not spent here.

Both the White House and the Air Force have previously said “no shortcuts were taken” with the new Air Force One, adding that the new plane is equipped with advanced technology and that critical mission requirements were prioritized over aesthetics.

[Bluetus]

44. The less that Trump "commands and controls" the better.

[AllaN01Bear]

33. my alarm bells kept goingg off on this one with tthe possibillity of listening devices emplanted

on the airplane

[Progressive dog]

37. It's fortunate that Trump has very little intelliigence

[slightlv]

39. Trump is at the core a bully and a coward

I think he overheard someone in passing mike drop how easy it would be to shoot down the plane. That all the security was known. Trump was then afraid to fly in it. I doubt he'll ever fly in it ever again. He will try to have it flown to Maralago when he finally gets out of our house... you know... like something to put on the back 40 bragging rights. But fly in it? I don't think hes got the guts after what hes done to the ME.

[Bluetus]

40. Panetta's explaination makes no sense.

because Trump resumed in the gold shittter from the UK home. Why would they be concerned about bugs while in Turkey, but not elsewhere?

One logical explanation is that there was a relatively minor maintenance issue that was easier to deal with in the UK than in Turkey. There are all sorts of systems on a 747 that don't prevent it from flying, but might reduce the redundancy or comfort in flight.

Another logical explanation is that some of the exotic communication systems that are unique to an AF1 aircraft were not working correctly, and they were more concerned about that in the Turkey region than across the Atlantic.

A third plausible explanation is that in a rush to get this plane into service, they left off some systems to be installed later. But in the course of this trip, they picked up intelligence that suggested this lack of systems put the aircraft in more danger than normal.

[BumRushDaShow]

41. "Why would they be concerned about bugs while in Turkey, but not elsewhere? "

I don't think "bugs" were the real issue. It was everything else.

See map of what they were dealing with -



Note the location in proximity of countries engaged in active hostilities.

That giant flying white elephant plane has zero defensive capabilities.

Later in the OP article is this quote -

This is a cover story of some kind to try to deploy one plane to Britain and have the president return to the old plane that was Air Force One there. There’s more going on. I think the war in Iran may have some something to do with it. He is in Turkey. It’s right next to Iran.

You also have Russia and Ukraine lobbing missiles and drones at each other.

[Bluetus]

42. I agree with you. It is not about bugs. Panetta is full of crap

and that is disappointing considering he was supposedly qualified to be an Intelligence head.

I agree with you that there was most likely a judgment that this particular aircraft was is jeopardy flying OUT of Turkey.

OK, why wasn't it the same danger FLYING IN THERE?

The most likely explanation is that they picked up some intelligence in real time that convinced them the risk was high.

OK, but why was the risk HIGHER with the Qatar plane than with the other AF1 aircraft?

It could be the paint job, but that is mitigated by flying out at night.

My guess is that Trump was so obsessed with showing off this grift plane that they never had time to install all the electronic systems and counter-measures

[BumRushDaShow]

47. "OK, why wasn't it the same danger FLYING IN THERE? "

Remember who you are talking about. I expect it took a mass push of staff to get him off that plane after he ignored warnings for using it at all.

And insulting Panetta is bullshit. Neither he nor any other non-MAGat previous agency head is going to blurt out top secret defensive capabilities about the AF1 fleet other than what has been generically made public.