If Donald Trump hoped to regain some positive attention with his spontaneous press conference at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, it didn’t quite work out as planned. Instead of making a strong impression, Trump struggled to stay focused, seemed irritable and distracted, and shared an improbable story about a helicopter crash with Willie Brown.
Willie Brown, a retired politician and former mayor of San Francisco, is now 90 years old. Trump brought him up while discussing Brown’s past relationship with Kamala Harris, which some have wrongly claimed helped Harris advance her career. During the press conference, Trump claimed he knew Brown well and recounted a dramatic helicopter ride with him. Trump said they had to make an emergency landing and thought they might not make it.
However, the next day, The New York Times revealed that Trump was mistaken. It turns out the helicopter ride Trump was talking about was with Jerry Brown, not Willie Brown. Jerry Brown, a former California governor who is white, and current Governor Gavin Newsom were with Trump on a helicopter flight in 2018 to check out wildfire damage in Northern California. Newsom dismissed Trump’s story as “complete B.S.”
Jerry Brown’s spokesperson confirmed there was no emergency landing, and the conversation didn’t involve Kamala Harris. Willie Brown also responded, saying that if he had nearly crashed in a helicopter, it would have been widely known. He also mentioned that he never did business with Trump and would not want to share a helicopter with him, noting that there are too many people with agendas related to Trump. Brown did say he had a lunch with Trump in the 1990s and they appeared together on a sitcom in 1997.
Regarding Kamala Harris, Willie Brown expressed no ill will towards her, calling her a “good friend” and praising her intelligence and success. He also mentioned he has supported her throughout her career and looks forward to the upcoming election.
When asked about Trump’s apparent falsehood and Willie Brown’s denial, a Trump campaign spokesperson simply dismissed the issue with the nickname “Slick Willie.”
