Jerry Brown refutes Trump's claim of emergency landing during helicopter ride
OAKLAND, Calif. - Former President Donald Trump confused two prominent California politicians on Thursday when he recounted a helicopter ride he described as near-death. However, a politician on the ride disputed Trump's claim that the aircraft nearly crashed.
Former Gov. Jerry Brown, not former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, joined Trump in a helicopter in 2018 to survey wildfire damage. It was during this tour that Trump blamed Democratic state leaders for California's wildfires, criticizing them for not raking leaves and clearing dead timber from forest floors. Wildfire experts and forest managers said raking leaves does not make sense for the vast U.S. wilderness and forests.
US President Donald Trump greets California Governor Jerry Brown and Governor-elect Gavin Newsom (L) as he arrives at Beale Air Force Base in California, November 17, 2018. (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
At a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, Trump inaccurately said that he and "Willie Brown" were in a helicopter that had to make an emergency landing.
"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. 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. But he told me terrible things about her," said Trump.
Willie Brown was not on the helicopter with Trump; Jerry Brown was.
The former governor confirmed to KTVU that he did take a helicopter ride with Trump and the current governor, Gavin Newsom, but said there were no problems during the flight.
"There was no emergency landing," Jerry Brown said. He also clarified that there was no discussion of Kamala Harris during the trip.
Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, echoed to the Associated Press on Friday that the flight had no issues, there was no emergency landing, and there was no conversation about Harris.
The two Browns each have public-sector careers spanning decades in California. Willie Brown, 90, is Black. Jerry Brown, 86, is white.
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Willie Brown’s long-ago relationship with Harris has resurfaced since she became the Democratic nominee for the White House. Now that Trump faces her in his bid for a second term, he and other Republicans have used the relationship to lob attacks suggesting Harris didn’t earn her political positions legitimately.
Brown was serving as speaker of the California State Assembly in the 1990s when he and Harris were in a relationship. Brown had separated from his wife in 1982.
Harris, 59, spent years as a prosecutor in the Bay Area before her elevation as the state’s attorney general in 2010 and then election as U.S. senator in 2016. She has been married to Doug Emhoff since 2014.
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt declined to explain the discrepancies in Trump’s story when asked about it Friday on Newsmax.
"I would just refer you to President Trump’s statement and what he said yesterday," Leavitt said. "The president has a lot of amazing stories from his life."
The Assocaited Press contributed to this story.