Former president Donald Trump On Thursday, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown confused former California Gov. Jerry Brown as he recounted what he described as a near-death experience.
during press conference From his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said he once flew in a helicopter with Willie Brown that “went down” when asked if he thought about Vice President Kamala Harris’s past relationship with the former mayor and the affair. played a role in his career.
“Actually, I landed in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe that was the end. We were in a helicopter together going somewhere and there was an emergency landing. It wasn’t a pleasant landing, Willie either, he was a little worried,” she said, “I know him. I know him very well.”
in an interview with San Francisco Chronicle Willie Brown meeting with Harris after the press conference years ago In San Francisco, he rejected many aspects of Trump’s account.
“If I had gotten on the helicopter with Trump, you would have known,” Brown said, according to the newspaper. “I’ve never been in a helicopter with Trump.”
In 2018, Trump was in a helicopter with Jerry Brown and his successor, then-governor-elect Gavin Newsom, as they toured Paradise, California, a town ravaged by wildfires.
A representative for Jerry Brown did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday night. Newsom’s spokesperson confirmed to NBC News that Newsom was in the helicopter, but said there was no emergency landing and they were not in danger. the governor first dhe denied Trump’s account 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 was “not a big fan of him at that point.”
Brown disputed that he spoke ill of Harris in his statements to the Chronicle.
“No, not at all,” he told the paper.
Willie Brown did not respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not respond to questions about whether Trump had confused the two California Democrats, saying only that “Slick Willie told some interesting stories about Kamala Harris” when reached for comment by NBC News.
Alex Seitz-Wald and Liz Kreutz contributed.