President Donald Trump told reporters on Oct. 5 that the U.S. military withdrew long-range bombers from the United Kingdom over the belief that the aircraft faced a lingering threat.
“We had an idea that there might be a threat,” Trump said shortly before departing the White House for a campaign stop in Grand Island, Nebraska.
“And why would I leave them there? It cost very little money to move them, you know, relatively closely. But no, we had a threat and if we’re going to be threatened, we’ll just move them and that sort of alleviates that.”
UK authorities initially arrested five individuals in connection with the Sept. 27 security incident, but subsequently released them on police bail.
When asked if Iran-linked actors may have brought armed drones into the UK to carry out attacks, Trump said, “I can’t tell you that. But if they did, they’ll suffer greatly.”
This is a developing report and will be updated with additional details.
