Trump's claim of helicopter chaos is questionable

Ever since Kamala Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, her Republican rival Donald Trump has had to find ways to sow distrust in her. The latest was last Thursday when he referenced a helicopter ride with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

“I know Willie Brown very well. I actually crashed a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this was the end of it,” Trump said at his first news conference after Harris’ initial nomination. “We were in a helicopter going to a certain place together, and it was an emergency landing.”

Among other things, claims Trump said Brown would say “terrible things” about Harris. She had a well-known affair with Brown around 1995 — which critics claim was a career choice — but Brown has repeatedly denied in media outlets that the incident occurred, that he slandered Harris or that he even rode in a helicopter with Trump.

– He's doing his best to find a way to humiliate Kamala with it. Willie Brown adds that there's no reason for her name to be anywhere near his lies. CNN.

However, two California Democrats appeared as helicopter passengers with Trump. One of them is former Gov. Jerry Brown, but he is white and there was no emergency at all when they flew over the state’s wildfires in 2018.

The other is the state politician. Nate Holden was actually on the helicopter with Trump that had to make an emergency landing. But that was in New Jersey circa 1990, so when Holden heard the former president’s story about Willie Brown on Thursday, his first thought was, “Did he have a near-fatal helicopter crash?” before calling Brown:

“I said, ‘Willie, you know what? That’s me!’ And I said, ‘You’re a short black guy and I’m a tall black guy — I think we all look alike, don’t we?’ He’s almost up to my shoulders. He’s bald and I’m not bald,” Nate Holden told CNN.

Willie Brown Quotes to New York Times That he wasn't on a helicopter with Trump and that he never said anything condescending about Harris because he “admires and respects her”:

– Those are the two things I'm sure of. Everything else is just entertainment. I don't want to jump to the conclusion that he can't tell the difference between black people, because I'd hate for him to think I'm Beyoncé.

Trump blames the mix-up on the media, specifically “two failed New York Times reporters,” one of whom is Maggie Haberman, whom he calls Maggot Hagerman on his Truth Social platform. Through spokesman Stephen Cheung, he stands by his story, clarifying that the incident must have happened in New Jersey.

“It looks like Holden is lying or having memory problems,” Cheung told Reuters.