Topline
An Iranian embassy pushed the social media conspiracy that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt resigned from her job this week because President Donald Trump left her on the plane he evacuated in Turkey to evade an alleged threat from Iran—but it’s unlikely she was actually on the so-called decoy flight.
Key Facts
The embassy of Iran in South Africa posted a photo of Leavitt on X Saturday and commended her resignation, writing, “betrayal is awful. When your boss betrays you and sends you in danger, while he escapes in a food truck, you lose all hope for camaraderie. Of course, you can’t expect much more from a murderer.”
Social media conspiracists speculated this week that Leavitt resigned over the incident—when Trump hid in a catering truck to be moved off Air Force One and onto another plane while departing Turkey last month to evade an alleged threat from Iran, according to multiple reports.
The White House disputed the rumor, telling the fact-checking website Snopes, “this is not true, she was not on the trip.”
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who reported on the ruse, also told Snopes neither she nor Leavitt were on the flight.
Leavitt gave birth to her second child May 1 and returned to the White House podium on July 16, though she was back at work several weeks earlier, posting a photo of herself aboard the new Air Force One jet gifted from Qatar on July 1, when it made its inaugural flight to South Dakota.
Leavitt announced on Wednesday she was resigning from her role to spend more time with her family, writing that since returning from maternity leave, she feels she “cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary.”
Tangent
Leavitt, who is expected to leave her job at the end of the month, called her decision “bittersweet” and said she will “always remain a vocal advocate for MAGA and the Republican Party.” Trump said he understood and respected Leavitt’s decision in a Truth Social post, adding that she will be one of his “top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party.”
Key Background
Trump was secretly shuttled off an Air Force One jet and taken to a smaller, Air Force Boeing C-32A plane via a catering truck just before departing Ankara, Turkey, on July 8 multiple outlets reported. Trump initially said he would take the older Air Force One plane, instead of the newly outfitted jet from Qatar that he flew to Turkey on, “for old time’s sake.” He took a select few aides with him, including Natalie Harp and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, but left two cabinet members, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, along with other aides and journalists on the trip to Turkey, on the so-called decoy flight, the New York Times reported. The operation happened after U.S. intelligence officials determined a credible threat against the president involving Iran, according to multiple outlets. The legitimacy of the threat, reportedly initiated by Israeli intelligence, has been widely disputed, including by some CIA officials, according to multiple outlets. Iranian state media and Iran’s embassy in South Africa mocked the ruse, posting memes of Trump pictured inside of catering carts full of food.
further reading
Iran Threat Prompted Trump To Secretly Swap Planes While Leaving Turkey, Reports Say (Forbes)
Karoline Leavitt Stepping Down As White House Press Secretary To Focus On Children (Forbes)