The other Black politician who says he was with Trump in that near-fatal chopper crash

The antheral who astir crashed successful a chopper with Donald Trump told POLITICO Trump confused him with erstwhile San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown — contempt the erstwhile president’s repeated insistence it was Brown.

It was Nate Holden, a erstwhile metropolis councilmember and authorities legislator from Los Angeles, who said successful an exclusive interrogation precocious Friday that helium remembers the near-death acquisition well. He and others judge it happened sometime successful 1990.

“Willie is the abbreviated Black feline surviving successful San Francisco,” Holden said. “I’m a gangly Black feline surviving successful Los Angeles.”

“I conjecture we each look alike,” Holden told POLITICO, letting retired a large laugh.

Holden, who is 95 years old, was successful interaction with Trump and his squad during the 1990s erstwhile the flamboyant Manhattan developer was trying to physique connected the tract of the historical Ambassador Hotel successful Los Angeles. Holden represented the territory astatine the clip and supported the project.

In the interview, Holden said helium was watching Trump’s property conference connected Thursday erstwhile the erstwhile president claimed that Brown was aboard during the white-knuckle chopper ride.

In fact, Holden says helium met Trump astatine Trump Tower, en way to Atlantic City, New Jersey, wherever they were going to circuit the developer’s marque caller Taj Mahal casino. In the lobby astatine Trump Tower, Holden says helium was greeted by respective radical arsenic “senator,” salutations that miffed the host.

“He said, ‘You cognize I ain this gathering but cipher seems to cognize who I am,’” Holden remembered the mogul saying.

Holden recalled being a spot disquieted astir the chopper thrust due to the fact that it came not agelong aft 5 people, including 3 high-level executives of Trump's casinos, were killed erstwhile their chopper crashed successful 1989 implicit Forked River, New Jersey.

But Holden says Trump told him they were successful bully hands, noting that helium had 2 susceptible pilots. “He tells maine to ‘look astatine the sky,’” Holden said. “‘Oh my God, it’s truthful beautiful.’”

Also aboard was Trump’s precocious brother, Robert, the lawyer Harvey Freedman and Barbara Res, Trump’s erstwhile enforcement vice president of operation and development. Res told POLITICO connected Friday that she besides remembers the thrust well. In fact, she said she wrote astir it successful her book, “All Alone connected the 68th Floor.”

Res remembers Brown, too. He took a liking to her, and she brought him a chapeau from the superyacht the Trump Princess, which she says helium loved. But the antheral connected the chopper was decidedly Nate Holden, she said.

On that ride, she said the pilots started feverishly maneuvering the instrumentality arsenic the chopper lurched implicit the water. “From the country of my eye, I tin spot successful the cockpit and what I spot is the co-pilot pumping a instrumentality with each his might,” Res wrote successful her book. Donald Trump and Robert Trump were reassuring Holden.

“Very soon thereafter the aviator fto america cognize helium had mislaid immoderate instruments and we would request to marque an exigency landing,” she wrote. “By now, the chopper was shaking similar crazy.”

After sizeable turbulence, they landed safely successful New Jersey astatine an airdrome wherever Trump had his commuter helicopters stored.

Within an hour, they were successful Atlantic City. Holden and Res had a bully luncheon astatine the casino courtesy of Trump and went backmost to New York. “We whitethorn not person gotten overmuch concern done, but it definite arsenic hellhole was memorable,” she wrote.

Over the telephone Friday, Res said Trump liked to archer a gag astir Holden connected the chopper — “you turned white,” helium said. But she said it was Trump’s look that was white.

“He was achromatic arsenic snow,” Holden added. “And helium was frightened shitless.”

When asked for comment, a Trump run spokesperson conscionable referred to a paragraph successful a New York Times nonfiction astir the incident.

"[Trump] has besides told the chopper communicative before, successful his 2023 book, 'Letters to Trump,' successful which helium published letters to him from a fig of people, including Mr. Brown. In the book, Mr. Trump wrote, 'We really had an exigency landing successful a chopper together. It was a small scary for some of us, but thankfully we made it.'"

Res and Holden spoke connected the telephone Friday night. They sometimes reminisce astir the Ambassador task that could person been.

“That’s the story, OK,” Res said. “No Willie Brown.”

Holden besides connected with Brown connected Thursday. “I said, ‘Willie, were you astir successful a chopper clang with Trump also?’ He said ‘No.’ I said, ‘I was the one, Willie.’”

Before helium hung up with POLITICO, Holden assured a newsman that cipher discussed — fto unsocial criticized — Kamala Harris arsenic Trump claimed Brown did.

“He either mixed it up,” Holden said. “Or, helium made it up. This was conscionable excessively large to overlook. This is simply a large one. Conflating Willie Brown and me? The property is searching for the existent communicative and they didn’t get it. You did.”