Trump's claim of close-call helicopter flight with Willie Brown spurs skepticsm

During a free-wheeling Mar-a-Lago press conference last week, former President Donald Trump made a shock claim about his November opponent, Kamala Harris, and her former paramour, onetime San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

Trump asserted that years ago, he and Brown were on a helicopter flight together which nearly ended in a crash, and although he insists that during that trip he was told several unflattering things about Harris, critics now suggest that the fellow traveler was not the former mayor, but someone else altogether, as Politico reports.

Trump's harrowing tale

As USA Today reports, while discussing Brown's allegedly disparaging comments about Harris from that day, Trump offered details of the frightening experience.

“I went down in a helicopter with him; we thought maybe this was the end,” Trump began.

He continued, “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.”

With regard to Harris, Trump said of Brown, “But he told me terrible things about her.... But he had a big part in what happened with Kamala. But he – he, I don't know, maybe he changed his tune. But he – he was not a fan of hers very much, at that point.”

Brown, for his part, has since denied having been part of the scenario Trump described, telling the San Francisco Chronicle, “You would have known if I had gone down on a helicopter with Trump” and adding that he did not speak negatively about Harris as was alleged.

Mistaken identity?

According to claims made in a report in Politico, the man who shared the scary experience with Trump was not Brown, but actually a man named Nate Holden, who formerly served as a Los Angeles City Councilman and state senator.

Asserting that the events at issue occurred sometime around 1990, Holden told the outlet, “Willie is the short Black guy living in San Francisco. I'm a tall Black guy living in Los Angeles.

Holden further quipped, “I guess we all look alike.”

Offering further details of the events as he recalls them, Holden said that while Trump joked that his co-passenger had turned pale from fright, it was the real estate mogul-turned president who did, noting, “He was white as snow. And he was scared sh*tless.”

Trump, for his part, has since doubled down on his claim that it was Brown who accompanied him on the flight that was memorable for all the wrong reasons, telling the New York Times that he has records that prove the veracity of his claims -- documentation which he reportedly has yet to provide.