Netflix is turning President Trump’s Air Force One decoy in Turkey into a documentary.
The streaming service teased “Instadocs: The Decoy Plane” on social media Tuesday. It will be premiering Friday.
In July, the president secretly boarded a different aircraft to avoid a potential Iranian assassination threat involving a shoulder-fired missile while leaving a NATO summit in Turkey.
At Ankara Esenboga Airport, Mr. Trump initially boarded Air Force One, previously used as a private jet by Qatar’s royal family, in full view of cameras as a decoy operation. He then reportedly crossed through the cabin, exited on the opposite side and stepped into an airport catering truck.
The truck covertly moved him to a secondary government aircraft, which departed while journalists on the main plane were told to keep their window shades down.
The quick-turn documentary will piece together “what really happened, as told by the people who were there,” Netflix said in a statement.
Interviewees include firsthand accounts from members of the press corps who were aboard Air Force One — Reuters National Security Correspondent Graham Slattery and The Associated Press’ chief White House photographer, Alex Brandon — as well as perspectives from MS NOW investigative reporter Carol Leonnig and The Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe, who was part of the team that broke the story.
In the teaser, Mr. Brandon said that on the tarmac, he noticed catering vehicles up against the side of Air Force One — an anomaly he had never seen before.
When Mr. Trump enters the plane, “we rush in, we sit down, we get on the plane. Don’t really think anything more of it,” Mr. Slattery said. “The second unusual thing happens. We’re told by the White House staff that we should lower our window shades.”
“I’m like, why? They said Secret Service says to,” Mr. Brandon said. “My little Spidey sense is up now. I don’t know why this is happening. And I’m on high alert.”
Also included are former Secret Service agent Robert McDonald and former Air Force One crew member Wanda Joell.
“Beyond showing the lengths the Secret Service will go to protect the president, this installment reveals the cost of that mission: to get him home safely, a plane full of reporters and the public they answer to were left flying blind,” Netflix said.
A White House official said the president has “discussed the numerous threats on his life, including threats from Iran.”
“Every measure is taken to ensure his safety. The United States Secret Service’s core mission is protecting the President, which they achieved,” the official said in a statement to The Washington Times.
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