Trump said he ‘went down’ in helicopter ‘emergency landing’ with former San Francisco mayor, who says it never happened

Munchausen Syndrome 

Factitious disorder imposed on self

Rashard Rose, CNN
Thu, August 8, 2024 



Former President Donald Trump recounted a story to reporters on Thursday about being involved in a helicopter emergency landing with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

Asked by a reporter about Vice President Kamala Harris’ previous relationship with Brown and whether it helped her career trajectory, Trump said he knew Brown “very well” and told a story about the alleged helicopter incident.

“I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing,” Trump told reporters gathered at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for his first news conference since the Democratic ticket was announced.


“This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was, he was a little concerned. So I know him, I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years,” Trump continued.

Brown, however, rejected Trump’s account as “obviously wrong” during a phone call later Thursday with CNN, saying: “I’ve never been in a helicopter with him in my life.”

“He is trying his best to get some way to degrade Kamala,” the former mayor also said of Trump and his Democratic rival for the presidency. “There is no reason why her name ought to be mentioned anywhere near his lies, period.”

Asked about Brown’s rebuttal of the former president’s narrative, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung only responded, “Slick Willie!”

The New York Times reported Thursday that the former president apparently confused Willie Brown with former California Gov. Jerry Brown, with whom he toured wildfire damage by helicopter in November 2018.

A spokesperson for Jerry Brown told the Times that “there was no emergency landing and no discussion of Kamala Harris.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who also toured the wildfires in 2018 as governor-elect, said of Trump’s account, “I call complete B.S.,” according to the Times.

“I was on a helicopter with Jerry Brown and Trump, and it didn’t go down,” Newsom told the Times, saying that Trump repeatedly brought up the possibility of crashing.

Right-wing media figures have before denigrated Harris as a “mistress” for her previous relationship with Brown – despite it having occurred after Brown was separated from his wife and was not a secret – among other attacks.

Trump during Thursday’s news conference claimed Willie Brown was “not a fan” of Harris and that he had told him “terrible things” about her.

Asked about those claims, Brown told CNN: “No. Why would I? Give me a break, please.”

CNN’s Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.

Willie Brown says Trump claims of helicopter trip, Kamala Harris confessions are false

Sandra McDonald
Thu, August 8, 2024 

Donald Trump and Willie Brown appear in an episode of the sitcom "Suddenly Susan" in 1997. Brown has denied some recent claims by the former president. (NBC / Universal via Getty Images)

Former President Trump said that he and Willie Brown almost crashed in a helicopter and that the former San Francisco mayor told him "terrible things" about Trump's Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris.

False and false, Brown says.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, conducted a meandering 65-minute news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday where he insulted Harris, reasserted false and misleading claims and talked about the U.S. in apocalyptic terms.

He also related the tale of being in a helicopter and facing danger with Brown.

"Well, I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought, maybe this is the end," Trump said.

"We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing," he said. "This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie, he was — he was a little concerned. So I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven't seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about [Kamala Harris]."

Brown says Trump's claims are untrue.

“I’ve never done business with Donald Trump, let’s start with that,” Brown told Bay Area TV station KRON. “And secondly, I don’t think I’d want to ride on the same helicopter with him.”

He also denied demeaning Harris to Trump.

“It's just as accurate as all of the other components of what you're asking me about,” Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle. “No, not accurate at all.”

Willie Brown told KRON he “could not envision thinking of Kamala Harris in any negative way. She’s a good friend a long time ago, absolutely beautiful woman, smart as all hell, very successful, electorally speaking.”

Brown dated Harris in the 1990s at the beginning of her career in San Francisco. The connection drew backlash against Harris from critics who said she gained politically from the relationship.

Brown did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment Thursday evening.

Trump did take a helicopter ride in 2018 — with a different Brown. He accompanied then-Gov. Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom, California's governor-elect, to survey the devastation from the Camp fire in the town of Paradise. There was no news at the time of an emergency landing — though alighting amid the devastation was probably not "pleasant."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.