Former President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to confuse former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown with former California Governor Jerry Brown as he recounted what he characterized as a near-death experience.
During a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said he once flew with Willie Brown in a helicopter that “crashed” when he was asked about Vice President Kamala Harris’ past relationship. with the former mayor. and whether he thought the relationship played a role in her career.
“I actually went down in the helicopter with him. We thought maybe that was the end. We were in a helicopter together going to a certain location and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was, he was a little worried. ,” Trump said. “So I know him. I know him very well.”
In an interview with Chronicle of San Francisco After the news conference, Willie Brown, who dated Harris years ago in San Francisco, denied several aspects of Trump’s account.
“You would know if I had gone down in a helicopter with Trump,” he 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, the day they visited Paradise, California, a city devastated by wildfires.
A representative for Jerry Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening. A spokesperson for Newsom confirmed to NBC News that Newsom was aboard the helicopter but said there was no emergency landing and they were not in danger. The governor first ddenied 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 “wasn’t a big fan of her at that point.”
Brown disputed that he badmouthed Harris in comments to the Chronicle.
“No, it’s not accurate at all,” he told the newspaper.
Willie Brown did not respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
Contacted by NBC News for comment, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not respond to questions about whether Trump had confused the two California Democrats, responding: “Slick Willie told some interesting stories about Kamala Harris.”
Alex Seitz-Wald and Liz Kreutz contributed.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
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