President Trump Says Military, Secret Service Ordered Secret Plane Switch

President Donald Trump says the wild Air Force One switcheroo wasn't his call ... revealing the Secret Service and military told him to take another plane because of a security threat.

Trump addressed the operation Tuesday, saying he follows the guidance of those responsible for protecting him. "I go by Secret Service and the military. They wanted me to go in a different flight, different plane," Trump said.

He added, "I just have to do what they say."

Trump's comments mark his confirmation of the elaborate security maneuver first reported by The Washington Post, in which he secretly slipped away from Air Force One after last month's NATO summit in Turkey amid a credible threat linked to Iran.

Trump was reportedly hidden inside an airport catering vehicle and transported to a smaller military aircraft, while Air Force One took off with White House staffers and journalists aboard without them knowing the President wasn't there. The jet essentially served as a decoy.