Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown is contemplating legal action against former President Donald Trump over a disputed helicopter incident.
The controversy stems from Trump's recent claims about a shared helicopter ride with Brown that allegedly ended in an emergency landing.
According to a report by TIME, Brown denies the event ever took place and is now considering a lawsuit if Trump continues to make these assertions. The dispute began on August 8, 2024, when Trump recounted a story of a helicopter ride with Brown during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
During this ride, Trump claimed they experienced an emergency landing and that Brown had shared unfavorable information about Vice President Kamala Harris, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee for the upcoming election.
Trump's account of the helicopter incident was not limited to his press conference statements. In his 2023 book "Letters to Trump," he included a photo caption describing an emergency landing in a helicopter with Brown. The former president stated that the experience was "a little scary for both of us."
However, Brown has categorically denied that such an incident ever occurred. In an interview with the New York Times, Brown stated, "You know me well enough to know that if I almost went down in a helicopter with anybody, you would have heard about it." He also refuted any suggestion of ill feelings between himself and Harris.
The conflicting accounts have led to speculation about possible mix-ups on Trump's part. Some theories suggest that Trump might have confused Brown with other politicians, such as former California Governor Jerry Brown, who rode in a helicopter with Trump in 2018 to survey wildfire damage. However, no emergency landing was reported in that instance.
Following the New York Times's publication of Brown's denial, Trump reportedly contacted the paper's reporter, Maggie Haberman. According to Haberman, Trump claimed to have proof of the helicopter ride and threatened to sue over the article.
In response to Trump's threat of legal action, Brown has now indicated his own willingness to pursue a lawsuit. In an interview with CBS News, Brown stated:
Somebody has got to make sure that he stops lying. If he keeps it up, at some point, I'm going to give him a taste of his own conduct. If he sues the New York Times for printing that I said he lied, I'm going to sue him.
Brown further characterized Trump's story as "a deliberate misrepresentation" and suggested it was an attempt to distract from Harris's recent political advancements, particularly her endorsement by President Joe Biden and much of the Democratic Party for her presidential run.
The dispute over the alleged helicopter incident is unfolding against the backdrop of the upcoming presidential election. It also touches on Harris's past relationship with Brown. It's widely understood that Harris and Brown dated for a period in the mid-1990s. In 2020, Brown addressed this relationship in an opinion piece for the San Francisco Chronicle titled "Sure, I dated Kamala Harris. So what?"
Trump's initial comments about the helicopter ride came in response to a question about Harris and her past relationship with Brown. This context has led some to view the disputed story as potentially politically motivated, aimed at influencing the public perception of Harris.
The dispute between Willie Brown and Donald Trump over an alleged helicopter incident has escalated, with Brown now considering legal action. Trump claims they experienced an emergency landing together, while Brown denies any such event occurred. The controversy has political implications, touching on the upcoming presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris's past. As the situation develops, both parties maintain their conflicting accounts of the alleged incident.
