The Truth Behind Trump’s Tale of a Harrowing Helicopter Ride and Emergency Landing That Never Happened
The Truth Behind Trump’s Tale of a Harrowing Helicopter Ride and Emergency Landing That Never Happened
By Mary Jones and Ben Emos | Thursday, August 15, 2024 | 6 min read
During Donald Trump’s political campaigns, particularly in 2016 and 2020, he often employed personal attacks and misinformation to undermine his opponents. In 2016, Trump targeted Hillary Clinton by focusing on her husband’s extramarital affairs, hoping to tarnish her public image. By 2020, his strategy shifted to Hunter Biden’s business ventures, with Trump attempting to discredit Joe Biden by associating him with his son’s dealings. In both cases, the goal was clear: damage the opponent’s reputation through a blend of accusations, half-truths, and outright falsehoods.
In yet another one of his colorful anecdotes, former President Donald Trump claimed he experienced an emergency helicopter landing alongside former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Trump described the situation as a tense moment, suggesting that both men feared for their lives during what he called “not a pleasant landing.” According to Trump, the two were en route to a certain location when the helicopter had to make the emergency descent.
However, this false claim was part of Trump’s broader attempt to undermine Kamala Harris’ character as she gained national prominence on her path to becoming the President of the United States. Trump alleged that during this helicopter ride, Brown made disparaging remarks about Harris, who had dated Brown in the 1990s. While the story lacked specific details, its aim was transparent: to cast doubt on Harris’ integrity and qualifications by linking her personal life to negative comments from a prominent California political figure.
Not likely. Governor Gavin Newsom clarified the situation to The New York Times, stating, “I was on a helicopter with Jerry Brown and Trump, and it didn’t go down.” Newsom was referring to a 2018 trip when then-President Trump visited the disaster zone left by the devastating Camp Fire, while Jerry Brown was still governor of California.
“It was back when we were making raking the forest great again,” Newsom quipped, referencing Trump’s controversial remarks about California’s forest management, where Trump suggested that the state wasn’t doing enough to clear forest debris.
Newsom did recall that Trump spent a significant portion of the helicopter ride commenting about how they might crash. However, contrary to Trump’s claim, the former governor said through a spokesperson that Kamala Harris was never mentioned on the flight. Newsom further added, “We talked about everyone else, but not Kamala.” He dismissed Trump’s comments as “an act of desperation” amid Harris’ growing political momentum.
However, Willie Brown quickly refuted Trump’s statement. Brown stated that not only did he never make such comments, but the helicopter ride itself never occurred. He made it clear that Trump was fabricating the entire story. Speaking to the New York Times, Brown humorously remarked, “You know me well enough to know that if I almost went down in a helicopter with anybody, you would have heard about it!” Brown also confirmed that he has never been in a helicopter with Trump, further debunking the account. This false narrative was yet another instance of Trump employing misinformation to try and undermine his opponents.
The fabricated story about Willie Brown and Kamala Harris followed a familiar playbook used by Trump throughout his political career. In 2016, Trump relentlessly attacked Hillary Clinton by bringing up the past scandals involving her husband, former President Bill Clinton. He often diverted attention from policy debates and instead focused on personal issues, attempting to sway public opinion by dredging up old controversies.
Similarly, in the 2020 election, Trump shifted his attention to Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Trump repeatedly claimed that Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China were evidence of corruption involving Joe Biden. Despite the lack of substantial evidence tying Joe Biden to any illegal activities, the strategy aimed to cast a shadow over Biden’s candidacy by focusing on his family’s private matters.
The Willie Brown-Kamala Harris story fit perfectly within Trump’s broader strategy. By falsely claiming that Brown had shared negative opinions about Harris, Trump sought to undermine her credibility, especially among voters who were unfamiliar with her history in California politics. It was an effort to turn personal relationships and rumors into a political weapon.
Kamala Harris’ political rise has been a point of interest, especially after being selected as Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020. As the first woman of South Asian and African American descent to be nominated for national office by a major party, Harris faced increased scrutiny, and her past relationships—including her brief romantic involvement with Willie Brown—became a point of focus for political opponents like Trump.
Brown, who served as San Francisco’s mayor and a powerful figure in California politics, had indeed dated Harris in the early 1990s and played a role in helping launch her career. Harris, however, has long distanced herself from that chapter, focusing on her own political achievements and qualifications.
Trump’s attempt to weaponize that past relationship by inventing a story about disparaging remarks from Brown highlights his use of personal attacks and misinformation to derail his opponents. In reality, Harris’ professional and personal life have been under public scrutiny for years, and no evidence exists to support Trump’s claims about Brown’s supposed comments.
Trump’s false claim about the helicopter ride underscores the danger of misinformation in modern politics. By circulating baseless stories, Trump was able to sow doubt about Kamala Harris without needing to back up his claims with facts. This tactic, which he used frequently during his campaigns, has become a hallmark of his political style.
The strategy worked to some degree, as it dominated headlines and forced Harris and her allies to refute the claims. However, the long-term impact of such tactics has been the erosion of trust in political discourse, where truth and falsehoods are often difficult to distinguish for the average voter.
In the case of Kamala Harris, the baseless claim involving Willie Brown did not significantly derail her political standing, as she went on to become the Vice President of the United States. However, the incident serves as a reminder of how misinformation can be used to distract from substantive policy debates and instead focus the public’s attention on personal attacks and rumors.
Donald Trump’s false claim about Willie Brown and the helicopter ride that never happened was part of his larger effort to undermine Kamala Harris’ candidacy in 2024. By falsely attributing negative comments to Brown, Trump sought to damage Harris’ reputation through a combination of personal attacks and misinformation. This tactic, consistent with his previous campaigns, illustrates how misinformation can be used to sow doubt and create controversy, even when the facts don’t support the narrative. Ultimately, the truth behind Trump’s claims was clear: there was no helicopter ride, no disparaging remarks, and no credible basis for the story.
Update: While Trump’s story of a near-crash seemed far-fetched, a possible explanation emerged. It was reported that Trump had shared a tense helicopter ride that did indeed make an emergency landing in New Jersey—around 1990—not with Willie Brown, but with Nate Holden, a Black politician from Los Angeles.
This entire episode would be more amusing if it weren’t for the fact that millions of Americans still support Trump for another term. The prospect of listening to more fabrications while watching him disrupt global affairs for personal gain looms over the political landscape.
Copyright 2024 FN, NewsRoom. All rights reserved.
Comments
Post a Comment