Trump describes brush with death on helicopter, but tale is full of holes
- There is no record of the incident, and supposed fellow passenger ex-San Francisco mayor Willie Brown says he was never on such a ride
A highlight of Donald Trump’s first news conference in months was his striking tale of a brush with death on board a helicopter alongside former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown.
The only problem? There is no record of any such emergency and the veteran Californian politician says he has never been in a helicopter with Trump.
The Republican ex-president was so caught up in the drama of his story at Thursday’s media event that he appeared to have confused the mayor with former California governor Jerry Brown, who once shared an uneventful helicopter ride with Trump.
The Republican presidential nominee claimed to know ex-mayor Brown “pretty well” as he held court in front of a room of journalists at his oceanfront home in south Florida.
“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 recounted.
“This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was … a little concerned.”
