WASHINGTON: A highlight of Donald Trump’s first news conference in months was his striking tale of a brush with death onboard 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.” The story was as startling to Brown, 90, as it was to Trump’s audience, given that the Californian says he has never done business with the former president and wouldn’t want to be in a helicopter with him.

It quickly became the most talked-about part of the news conference, with The Guardian newspaper branding the anecdote Trump’s “chopper whopper.” Willie Brown immediately denied the anecdote, telling the San Francisco Chronicle: “You would have known if I had gone down on a helicopter with Trump.”

Once a powerful figure in state politics who was also a speaker in California’s legislature, Brown’s name had come up because he dated Trump’s election rival Kamala Harris for around a year in the 1990s. Trump said Brown had told him “terrible things” about Harris on the flight and was “not a fan of hers very much at that point.”

The other Brown — governor Jerry — did share a helicopter ride with Trump, to the fire-devastated Californian town of Paradise in 2018. Pundits speculated that Trump had mixed the two men up. But the governor told The Washington Post they had never been in any danger.

“It was a lively ride, but an utterly safe landing,” he told the paper, adding that “the subject of Harris never came up.” Brown’s successor Gavin Newsom was also on the ride and said there was no emergency landing or any other drama, and that Harris was not discussed.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Counterterrorism plan
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Counterterrorism plan

Lacunae in our counterterrorism efforts need to be plugged quickly.
Bullish stock market
23 Nov, 2024

Bullish stock market

NORMALLY, stock markets rise gradually. In recent months, however, Pakistan’s stock market has soared to one ...
Political misstep
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Political misstep

To drag a critical ally like Saudi Arabia into unfounded conspiracies is detrimental to Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

An audit of polio funds at federal and provincial levels is sorely needed, with obstacles hindering eradication efforts targeted.
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...