President Donald Trump stated Tuesday night that his secret departure from Turkey last month, which involved a decoy Air Force One carrying some officials and press, was a decision made by the Secret Service and the U.S. military for safety reasons.

"I just follow what they'd like to do," Trump told reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews following a trip to Ohio. "So I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane. Equal safety. But they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say."

Sources familiar with the operation, as reported by The Washington Post and ABC News, indicated that Trump secretly transferred from the old Air Force One to a military aircraft via a catering container. This elaborate maneuver was reportedly conducted without the knowledge of the traveling press corps or some White House officials aboard the decoy flight.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were on the decoy Air Force One, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was on the military aircraft with the president. Sources confirmed that all three Cabinet members were aware of Trump's switch due to the threat.

When questioned about a specific threat at the time, Trump downplayed its significance. "I guess there was a threat out there. I didn't really ask too much about it. I get a lot of threats," he said.

Surprisingly, when asked about the safety of the decoy Air Force One jet, Trump asserted that he believed the plane he traveled on was at greater risk. "I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk," Trump stated. "I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that we -- that they would be more likely to go for."

At the time of the flight, Trump had publicly announced he would be using the old Air Force One, not the new one gifted by Qatar, stating he was sending it to a U.K. base for service members to tour. However, ABC News had previously reported that Trump was advised against taking that particular plane due to security concerns amid escalating tensions with Iran.

On the decoy Air Force One flight, reporters were instructed to keep their windows closed for the entire duration, a mandate attributed to the Secret Service, raising further questions about the nature of the security operation.