During a recent press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate, former President Donald Trump apparently confused former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown with former California Governor Jerry Brown. Trump spoke about an alleged helicopter crash involving Willie Brown, which he described as a near-fatal event, during discussions about Vice President Kamala Harris’s former association with Willie Brown and his influence on her career path.
Trump said: “We were on a helicopter heading to a location when we had to make an emergency landing. It was pretty heartbreaking and Willie seemed pretty concerned.” He added: “I got to know him pretty well through that experience.”
However, Willie Brown refuted Trump’s version of events in a subsequent interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, stating, “If I had been in the helicopter with Trump, you would have known. We never shared a helicopter ride.”
In fact, it was Jerry Brown, not Willie Brown, who accompanied Trump on a helicopter during a 2018 visit to Paradise, California, following severe wildfires. That trip, which also included then-Governor-elect Gavin Newsom, did not involve an emergency landing, contrary to Trump’s claims, a Newsom spokesperson confirmed.
Adding to the confusion, Trump also claimed that Willie Brown had made disparaging comments about Harris, to which Willie Brown responded directly, dismissing the claims as completely unfounded.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not directly address the issue of confusion between the two Browns, only commenting vaguely on Willie Brown’s past comments about Harris.
This confusion highlights a notable gaffe in Trump’s recall of past events, conflating personal interactions and public figures into an error-prone historical narrative.
