Maggie Haberman Fact-Checks Trump’s Bizarre Willie Brown Helicopter Story: ‘Everything About the Story Was False’
New York Times political reporter Maggie Haberman fact-checked former President Donald Trump’s false tale on Thursday recounting a near-death experience aboard a helicopter with Willie Brown, the former San Francisco mayor and ex-boyfriend of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The fictionalized account was told during a press conference at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Asked about Harris’ past relationship with Brown, Trump launched into a detailed narrative about the supposed “emergency landing”, even claiming Brown had divulged “terrible things” about Harris during the ordeal.
Haberman, who frequently has consistently broken news on Trump’s past and campaigns, called out the former president on X: “Trump’s story about being in a rough helicopter landing with Willie Brown was actually with [former California Governor] Jerry Brown, and there was no rough landing. Everything about the story was false, both men said.”
And far from a perilous emergency landing, the flight in question had been uneventful, according to Governor Gavin Newsom, who was also aboard.
In a further post, Haberman added: “Three Trump casino executives were killed in a helicopter crash in 1989, an event that Trump later insinuated he was supposed to join them on, a claim some employees said was untrue.”
Three Trump casino executives were killed in a helicopter crash in 1989, an event that Trump later insinuated he was supposed to join them on, a claim some employees said was untrue. https://t.co/AFllier8Ic
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) August 9, 2024
Those three men associated with the story hit back in a New York Times article on Friday, a spokesperson for Jerry Brown said: “There was no emergency landing and no discussion of Kamala Harris.”
Newsom, reportedly laughed at the former president’s tale, remarking: “I call complete B.S.”
Willie Brown also flatly denied ever riding in a helicopter with Trump, let alone facing a life-threatening situation: “You know me well enough to know that if I almost went down in a helicopter with anybody, you would have heard about it!”
