Trump 'Leaked Decoy Plane' Revelation to Boost His Sinking Approval Rating, Top Biographer Claims
President Trump has been accused of leaking an unreported security threat against him in Turkey to boost his popularity.
Aug. 13 2026, Published 11:40 a.m. ET
As anger continues to run sky-high following President Trump's plane switcheroo, biographer Michael Wolff says there is only one way a national security plan that specific could ever be leaked – and that would have to be by the president himself, RadarOnline.com can report.
Trump secretly left Air Force One amid a July summit in Turkey and boarded another jet after receiving security threats on the ground, leaving White House staffers and journalists behind on an alleged "decoy plane" meant to fool any possible attackers into thinking that he was onboard.
President Trump's Great Escape
The president was secretly shuttled to another jet after fears of a terrorist attack.
The security fear and the decision to hide the 80-year-old in a catering truck and then load him into another plane might have remained buried, as biographer Michael Wolff explained that no one in the Secret Service would have spilled the beans.
"No one knows about it, and no one knows about most of these things that the Secret Service does for a very good reason," Wolff said on the Inside Trump's Head podcast. "These are all security precautions... If people know about them, then they're no longer part of the security protocol and no longer a safe part.
"So people don't know about this. The Secret Service certainly would not leak this. So who leaked it?"
Trump and His 'Method' Exposed
Michael Wolff said the switch wouldn't have been made public without the president's approval.
Wolff said the answer is obvious – it was the president himself. And he did so in a drastic attempt to raise his cratering popularity rating.
"He has a method here. And the method is now more attention on me," Wolff claimed. "And also there's a theme here. The assassination theme has worked very well for Donald Trump. And I think that he wants he wants people to know he's the target: 'I'm the main target. I'm the guy, number one in the world. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. I'm the biggest target'."
Wolff pointed out the sympathy strategy " totally worked for him after Butler, Pennsylvania."
Following the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump’s favorability ratings saw a clear short-term bump. An ABC News/Ipsos poll recorded his favorability rising to 40%, marking a four-year high in that polling series alongside a surge in campaign momentum and fundraising.
Those Left Behind were Unaware Trump Had Evacuated
Staffers and journalists left behind on Air Force One became decoys as the president flew out quietly.
However, Trump's plan to sneak off Air Force One was reportedly not popular with the people he left behind on the plane.
According to Pentagon insiders, the National Security Agency, the CIA and Turkey's MIT intelligence service picked up streams of information about a credible plot by Iran to fire a surface-to-air missile at Air Force One as the president left the country.
While Trump was well aware of the threat and was shuttled to the secret jet, those onboard Air Force One had no idea they had become potential targets for any attack.
The president reportedly never told his left-behind staffers that they could be in danger, and journalists on the other plane were not aware Trump wasn't with them.
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'A Scared Little B----'
Trump had to abandon his new Qatar-gifted jet over security concerns.
After those Air Force One passengers learned the truth about their unknowing distraction, critics chastised Trump for seemingly being ok with sacrificing them for his own safety.
"Trump was ready to let you die while he secretly made his escape," HuffPost White House reporter S.V. Dáte announced to his colleagues.
Liberal critics such as Ron Filipkowski praised Joe Biden for allegedly "never hiding in a catering cart", and Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor said the report made Trump look like a "scared little b---h."
"The mental image of Trump hiding from Iran in a catering cart is devastating," Vietor said on X. "A weak, stupid old man hiding from the consequences of his own decision while endangering others."
