Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on August 8, 2024.
Joe Reddell | Getty Images
former president Donald Trump Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and former California Gov. Jerry Brown appeared confused Thursday when recounting his alleged near-death experience.
period press conference Trump said at Mar-a-Lago in Florida that he had been on a helicopter with Willie Brown when he was asked about Vice President Kamala Harris’ past relationship with the former mayor and whether he considered it , the helicopter “crash” played an important role in her career path.
“I actually went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe that was the end of it. We went to a location in a helicopter together and made an emergency landing. It wasn’t a pleasant landing, Willie, and he was a little worried,” Trump said. “So I know him. I know him very well.”
during an interview san francisco chronicle After the press conference, Willie Brown, who dated Harris years ago In San Francisco, multiple aspects of Trump’s account were denied.
“If I were in a helicopter with Trump and it crashed, you would know,” Brown said, according to the newspaper. “I’ve never been in a helicopter with Trump.”
In 2018, Trump flew in a helicopter with Jerry Brown and his successor, then-Governor Gavin Newsom, to visit Paradise, California, a town ravaged by wildfires.
Representatives for Jerry Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night. A spokesperson for Newsom confirmed to NBC News that Newsom was on the helicopter, but said there was no emergency landing and there was no threat to them. governor First, he denied Trump’s claims In comments to The New York Times.
During Thursday’s press conference, Trump also claimed that Willie Brown told him “terrible things” about Harris and that Brown “didn’t like her very much at the time.”
Brown took issue with the negative words about Harris in remarks published by The Chronicle.
“No, that’s not accurate at all,” he told the newspaper.
Willie Brown did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not answer a question about whether Trump confused the two California Democrats, and when contacted by NBC News for comment, he only responded: , “Sly Willie tells some interesting stories about Kamala Harris.”