Trump sticks to tale of scary helicopter ride, despite denials
World
Trump sticks to tale of scary helicopter ride, despite denials
(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday insisted he was in a near-fatal helicopter ride with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, although Brown said the incident never happened and another politician said he had been on a similar flight with Trump decades earlier.
Trump on Thursday related the tale of almost dying on a helicopter with Brown, who had briefly dated Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris several decades ago.
"I went down in a helicopter with him," Trump said in a rambling press conference. "We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was, he was a little concerned."
Trump also asserted Willie Brown told him "terrible things" about Harris.
Brown, a longtime Democratic power broker who also served as speaker of the California State Assembly, told the San Francisco Chronicle after Trump's press conference that he was never in a helicopter with the former president. He also denied that he had ever said anything disparaging about Harris to Trump.
Another Black former California politician, Nate Holden, told Politico late on Friday that he had been in a turbulent helicopter ride with Trump in New Jersey, likely in 1990.
Earlier on Friday, Trump had dug in, insisting in posts on his Truth Social platform that his helicopter ride had been with Willie Brown and that it had occurred in New Jersey, not California.
"There were "Logs," Maintenance Records, and Witnesses. There was also a story on "Willie and Me," Trump said.
Since Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris announced Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, some supporters told Reuters they now feel they have an individual fighting for them in the lead-up to the November 5 election.
He did not provide any of the evidence he referred to in the post.
Asked to share the evidence Trump mentioned, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung referred Reuters to a post of his on X of a picture from a page in the 2023 "Letters to Trump" book. It contains a picture of Trump and Willie Brown, and quotes Trump as saying: "We actually had an emergency landing in a helicopter together."
Asked about Holden's account of being in a helicopter with Trump, Cheung said: "Sounds like Holden is either lying or is having memory issues."
Holden, a former city councilman and state senator from Los Angeles, scoffed at Trump's account, Politico reported.
"Willie is the short Black guy living in San Francisco," Holden was quoted as saying. "I'm a tall Black guy living in Los Angeles. I guess we all look alike."
