Donald Trump is expected to arrive in Ankara for the NATO Leaders Summit on July 7-8, accompanied by a US team of roughly 1,400 people that includes politicians, diplomats, military figures and CIA staff.
The summit is being held at the Beştepe Presidential Complex in the Turkish capital, where NATO leaders are gathering on July 7 and 8 for talks centered on defense spending, support for Ukraine and wider transatlantic tensions.
A report from Turkish publication T24 says the trip would make Trump the first sitting American president to visit the Turkish capital in about 17 years.
The previous sitting president to travel to Ankara was George W. Bush, who visited before the 2004 NATO summit in Istanbul. Barack Obama briefly stopped there in 2009 but did not return during his presidency, while Trump skipped Turkey during his first term and Joe Biden also never visited.
While the significance of the visit has drawn attention on its own, another detail tied to presidential travel security is also generating interest.
Following established Secret Service procedure, Trump’s personal toilet setup will reportedly be transported to Ankara as well. That system allows any waste produced by the president during the trip to be collected and returned to the US instead of entering the local sewage network.
The reason for the precaution is to stop foreign intelligence agencies from gaining access to biological material that could be examined for health-related information.
This approach is not unique to the US. Vladimir Putin, who has long faced speculation from Kremlin observers over his health, is also said to travel with personnel tasked with recovering his waste whenever he goes abroad.
Specialists note that stool samples can disclose far more than many people assume, including signs linked to treatments such as chemotherapy. Similar methods have reportedly been associated with several other major political figures in the past, among them Mao Zedong, Hafez al-Assad and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Trump’s presidential limousine is also due to be flown in from the United States. In addition, the Secret Service is expected to use short-range security drones, while Turkish authorities have already imposed sweeping airspace restrictions around the summit area.
Security preparations for the summit extend far beyond the American entourage. Turkish authorities have said tens of thousands of police officers are being deployed in Ankara, along with gendarmerie units and air surveillance aircraft to monitor the city and its approaches.
Residents should expect repeated road closures in western and southern Ankara during the summit, with certain roads shut completely and some major shopping centres potentially closing for part of the event.
Officials are preparing for more than 100 delegations, with defence ministers, foreign ministers and top military officers among those expected to attend.
The meeting comes as NATO leaders press allies to present credible plans for higher defense spending, even as the alliance continues to support Ukraine and confront the fallout from the war in Europe. Trump has also used the summit to push allies on issues ranging from burden-sharing to his renewed dispute over Greenland.