Washington D.C. [US], August 10: Former US President Donald Trump just told a story that left many people gasping, saying that he almost died while riding a helicopter with Mr. Willie Brown, former Mayor of San Francisco (California) and ex-boyfriend of Vice President Kamala Harris.
However, Mr. Trump's story has many problems, when Mr. Willie Brown was not on the helicopter but former Governor Jerry Brown, and the two men do not look alike at all, according to The New York Times on August 9.
There was also no way the helicopter could have made an emergency landing without the passengers being in any danger, according to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was on board the flight.
Jerry Brown leaves office in January 2019. A spokesman for him said "there was no emergency landing and there was no discussion about Kamala Harris."
Earlier, Mr. Trump mentioned the above story during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, when answering a reporter's question about the previous relationship between Ms. Harris and Mr. Willie Brown and whether Mr. Trump thought it could affect her career path.
The two dated in 1994 and 1995, when Harris was the Alameda County prosecutor and Brown was the speaker of the California Assembly. He appointed her to two California commission positions.
"Oh, I know Willie Brown very well. Actually, I landed with him in a helicopter," Trump replied, telling the story of his near-death experience.
"We thought it was over. We were in a helicopter, going somewhere together and having an emergency landing. It was not a pleasant landing," he said.
"And Willie was a little nervous. So I know him very well. I mean, I haven't seen him in years. But he's told me terrible things about her (Harris)," the former president said.
After Trump's press conference, a reporter called Willie Brown, 90, who told him the whole story was false. He and Harris ended their relationship nearly three decades ago, but he said he had always been a fan and supporter of her.
The helicopter ride Mr Trump took was in 2018 with former Governor Jerry Brown and Mr Newsom, then California's governor-elect, to survey damage caused by the deadly Camp Fire in the town of Paradise.
Newsom insisted there was no emergency helicopter landing and that people were not talking about Harris. "We were talking about other people, but not Kamala Harris," he said with a laugh, calling Trump's press conference an "act of desperation" driven by what he called Harris' motivation.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
