Brutal fact-check exposes gaping holes in Trump’s California helicopter ride anecdote

During a press conference on Thursday, August 8, former President Donald Trump told reporters an anecdote in which he almost died in a helicopter ride in California with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. But when New York Times reporters offered a comprehensive fact-check, they exposed some major inaccuracies.

Times reporters Heather Knight and Shawn Hubler explain, "Former President Donald J. Trump told a jaw-dropping story on Thursday about nearly dying in a helicopter ride with Willie Brown, the former California politician and ex-boyfriend of his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. There was only one problem with the story. Or maybe two. Or maybe three."

Knight and Hubler continue, "It wasn't the famous former San Francisco mayor on the helicopter flight at all. It was Gov. Jerry Brown, the former governor of California, who bears little resemblance to Willie Brown."

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According to California Gov. Gavin Newsom — who was also on that flight — there was never an emergency landing.

Newsom told the Times, "I call complete BS." And Jerry Brown told the Times, "There was no emergency landing and no discussion of Kamala Harris."

Times reporter Maggie Haberman did some fact-checking as well.

On X, formerly Twitter, Haberman posted, "Trump's story about being in a rough helicopter landing with Willie Brown was actually with Jerry Brown, and there was no rough landing. Everything about the story was false, both men said."

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Haberman, in a separate tweet, linked to 1989 reporting from the Times and explained, "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."

Public relations writer John Stodder Jr., in response to Haberman, tweeted, "Wait a minute, Maggie. You're saying Donald Trump mixed up JERRY BROWN with WILLIE BROWN? I'm no gerontology expert like Peter Baker, but that sounds like a symptom of senile dementia."

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