Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on August 08, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Former President Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to confuse former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown with former California Gov. Jerry Brown when recounting what he characterized as a near-death experience.

During a news conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump said that he once flew with Willie Brown in a helicopter that "went down" when he was asked about Vice President Kamala Harris' past relationship with the former mayor and whether he thought that relationship had played a role in her career path. "In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end.

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," Trump said. "So I know him.

I know him pretty well." In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle after the news conference, Willie Brown, who dated Harris years ago in San Francisco, denied multiple aspects of Trump's account. "You would have known if I had gone down on a helicopter with Trump," Brown said, according to the newspaper.

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