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**Hugh** · 11-08-2024, 08:39

Quote:

Trump reiterates claim about helicopter trip but doesn’t provide records

The GOP nominee doubled down on an earlier claim that may instead involve a trip with former California governor Jerry Brown or with a former Los Angeles councilman.

Former president Donald Trump insisted again Friday that he took a dangerous helicopter ride with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, telling the New York Times that he would release flight records.

Trump, who did not release the records, told reporters at a news conference Thursday that he had ridden in a helicopter with Brown, who dated Vice President Kamala Harris 25 years ago, claiming that Brown had criticized her during the flight.

Brown, who is Black, called Trump’s story “fiction.” Former California governor Jerry Brown, who is White, and the state’s current governor, Gavin Newsom, said they rode in a helicopter with Trump to survey the fire-devastated town of Paradise, Calif., in 2018, but they said Harris was not a topic of conversation and the landing was uneventful.

And late Friday night, Politico reported that Nate Holden, who is Black — a former Los Angeles council member who grew close to Trump when he tried to renovate the historic Ambassador Hotel in the 1990s — said he was the one in a helicopter with Trump when it almost crashed.

Trump claimed in the Times interview that he had “flight records of the helicopter” showing he was with Willie Brown and that he would release the records. The Times reported Trump said he was “probably going to sue” the news organization, according to an article written by longtime Trump reporter Maggie Haberman, and he responded mockingly to a request for the flight records by repeating it in a “singsong” voice.

The Times reported that Trump did not provide the records Friday night. On Saturday, campaign spokesman Steven Cheung shared a photo of a coffee-table book published last year in which Trump mentions the story of the ride with Willie Brown when The Washington Post asked for the helicopter records.

Trump’s dubious account comes less than a month after President Joe Biden, 81, left the presidential race amid concerns over his acuity after a damaging debate performance in June. Trump, 78, told more than 30,000 lies or falsehoods during his presidency and in recent weeks has lashed out as Harris, who is challenging him for the presidency, and who has drawn large crowds and enthusiasm among Democrats.

Background to the story, at the bottom of the same article.

Quote:

During his Thursday news conference, Trump first brought the story up with his usual dramatic flair and insisted the helicopter trip was a dangerous mission.

“I went down in a helicopter with him,” Trump said of Brown at his Florida resort. “We thought maybe this is the end. … So I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about her.”