Current:Home > Contact-usTrump’s tale of a harrowing helicopter ride and emergency landing? Didn’t happen, Willie Brown says-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Trump’s tale of a harrowing helicopter ride and emergency landing? Didn’t happen, Willie Brown says
View Date:2024-12-23 18:58:03
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump mixed up two prominent politicians from California when he told a harrowing tale of almost crashing in a helicopter.
During a meandering press conference Thursday riddled with false and misleading statements, Trump recalled riding as a passenger in the chopper with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown when it was forced to make an emergency landing. The comments were in response to a question about a relationship between Brown and Vice President Kamala Harris three decades ago.
But Brown has never shared a helicopter with Trump, the former mayor said. Instead, it was former California Gov. Jerry Brown who rode with Trump in a helicopter in 2018 to survey wildfire damage, and no emergency landing was reported.
“I know Willie Brown very well,” Mr. Trump said about the alleged incident. “In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this was the end.”
He went on: “We were in a helicopter, going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing.”
Trump said Brown also told him “terrible things” about Harris. “He was not a fan of hers very much, at that point.”
But Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s never been in a helicopter with Trump.
“You would have known if I had gone down on a helicopter with Trump,” Brown told the paper.
The longtime Democratic politician said he has never disparaged Harris to Trump, either.
“Hell, no,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t say anything bad about any woman to him.”
Former California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and Trump did ride in a helicopter to survey wildfire damage in 2018. But no problems with the flight were reported.
Current Gov. Gavin Newsom was also on the aircraft. A spokesperson for the Democrat, Izzy Gardon, said Friday there was no problem with the flight, no emergency landing, and no conversation about Harris.
The two Browns each have public-sector careers spanning decades in California. Willie Brown, 90, is Black. Jerry Brown, 86, is white.
Willie Brown’s long-ago relationship with Harris has resurfaced since she became the Democratic nominee for the White House. Now that Trump faces her in his bid for a second term, he and other Republicans have used the relationship to lob attacks suggesting Harris didn’t earn her political positions legitimately.
Brown was serving as speaker of the California State Assembly in the 1990s when he and Harris were in a relationship. Brown had separated from his wife in 1982.
Harris, 59, spent years as a prosecutor in the Bay Area before her elevation as the state’s attorney general in 2010 and then election as U.S. senator in 2016. She has been married to Doug Emhoff since 2014.
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt declined to explain the discrepancies in Trump’s story when asked about it Friday on Newsmax.
“I would just refer you to President Trump’s statement and what he said yesterday,” Leavitt said. “The president has a lot of amazing stories from his life.”
veryGood! (21)
Related
- California voters reject measure that would have banned forced prison labor
- Doomed: Is Robert Downey Jr.'s return really the best thing for the MCU?
- Memo to the Supreme Court: Clean Air Act Targeted CO2 as Climate Pollutant, Study Says
- North Dakota voters will decide whether to abolish property taxes
- All Social Security retirees should do this by Nov. 20
- Unemployment rise spurs fears of slowdown, yet recession signals have been wrong — so far
- Justin Timberlake’s License Is Suspended After DWI Arrest
- Paris Olympics opened with opulence and keeps going with Louis Vuitton, Dior, celebrities
- Nicole Scherzinger receives support from 'The View' hosts after election post controversy
- Flavor Flav, Alexis Ohanian step up to pay rent for US Olympian Veronica Fraley
Ranking
- How Alex Jones’ Infowars wound up in the hands of The Onion
- Taylor Swift explains technical snafu in Warsaw, Poland, during acoustic set
- Kaylee McKeown sweeps backstroke gold; Regan Smith takes silver
- Jobs report: Unemployment rise may mean recession, rule says, but likely not this time
- What are the best financial advising companies? Help USA TODAY rank the top U.S. firms
- D23 Ultimate Disney Fan Event Unveils Star Wars, Marvel & More Collections: An Exclusive First Look
- Only one thing has slowed golf's Xander Schauffele at Paris Olympics: Ants
- French pharmacies are all the rage on TikTok. Here's what you should be buying.
Recommendation
-
2 credit unions in Mississippi and Louisiana are planning to merge
-
I Tried This Viral Brat Summer Lip Stain x Chipotle Collab – and It’s Truly Burrito-Proof
-
Olympic badminton player offers Snoop Dogg feedback, along with insights about sport
-
Heat deaths of people without air conditioning, often in mobile homes, underscore energy inequity
-
MLS Star Marco Angulo Dead at 22 One Month After Car Crash
-
Saturn throws comet out of solar system at 6,700 mph: What astronomers think happened
-
'Chronically single' TikTokers go viral for sharing horrible dating advice
-
The Viral Makeup TikTok Can’t Get Enough Of: Moira Cosmetics, Jason Wu, LoveSeen, and More