Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown warned he may consider legal action against former President Donald Trump. a story he recently told about how he almost crashed in a helicopter with Brown.
In an interview with CBS News this week, Brown said he had never been in a helicopter with Trump and threatened to sue the former president because “someone has to make him stop lying.”
“If he keeps this up, I’m going to give him a taste of his own behavior at some point,” Brown said. “If he sues the New York Times for printing my claim that he lied, I’m going to sue him.”
When doubts about the credibility of his story arose last week, Trump threatened to sue the New York Times.
Trump made the claim last week while responding to a question about a relationship between Brown and Vice President Kamala Harris three decades ago.
“I know Willie Brown very well,” Trump said. “In fact, I flew with him in a helicopter. We thought maybe that was the end.”
It seemed as if Trump had confused Brown with another politician.
Former California Governor Jerry Brown and Trump surveyed wildfire damage in 2018. No problems were reported with their helicopter flight.
A former California state senator, Nate Holden, believes Trump may have been talking about him, as Politico first reported. He said he was in a helicopter with Trump in 1990 that nearly crashed.
“Willie is the little black guy who lives in San Francisco,” Holden told Politico. “I’m a big black guy who lives in Los Angeles.”
Brown said he would sue “absolutely” if necessary, “because I don’t want my acquaintance with Willie Brown to have a negative impact on anyone, especially not on someone who is such a close friend of Vice President Harris.”
Trump also claimed that Brown was “not a fan” of Harris and told him “horrible things” about her. Brown, who dated Harris in the 1990s, also denied this.
“Not in a helicopter and not out of a helicopter. That didn’t happen,” Brown said. “Not there. He’s so creative. I don’t know how he dragged me up on stage, on something that was not meant to detract in any way from the magnificence of her ascension.”
When asked if this was a simple mix-up on Trump’s part, Brown said it was “a deliberate misrepresentation to his advantage.”
“He’s trying to discredit them,” Brown said of Trump and Harris. “He could only think of one person he could drag into the argument as being negative for them.”
CBS News has asked the Trump team for comment.
— Paul Facey contributed to this report.
Nikole Killion
