Former President Trump said he and Willie Brown nearly crashed in a helicopter and that the former San Francisco mayor said “terrible things” to him about Trump’s Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.
False and false, Brown said.
Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, held a meandering 65-minute news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday in which he insulted Harris, reiterated false and misleading claims and spoke of the United States in apocalyptic terms.
He also told the story of his helicopter ride and the danger he encountered with Brown.
“I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this was the end,” Trump said.
“We were in a helicopter going to a certain place together, and there was an emergency landing,” he said. “It wasn’t a pleasant landing, and Willie, he was – he was a little worried. So I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years. But he told me some terrible things about [Kamala Harris].”
Brown says Trump’s claims are false.
“I’ve never done business with Donald Trump, let’s start with that,” Brown told KRON television in the San Francisco Bay Area. “And secondly, I don’t think I’d want to be on the same helicopter with him.”
He also denied belittling Harris to Trump.
“That’s just as specific as any of the other elements of what you’re asking me,” Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle. “No, not at all specific.”
Willie Brown told KRON that he couldn’t imagine thinking negatively about Kamala Harris. She’s a good friend of mine for a long time, an absolutely beautiful woman, smart as hell, and very successful, electorally speaking.
Brown dated Harris in the 1990s, early in her career in San Francisco. The relationship drew backlash from her critics, who said she took political advantage of the relationship.
Brown did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment Thursday evening.
Trump did take a helicopter ride in 2018, with another Brown. He accompanied then-Governor Jerry Brown and California Governor-elect Gavin Newsom to view the damage from the Camp Fire in the town of Paradise. There was no news at the time of an emergency landing, although landing amid the damage probably wasn’t “pleasant.”
