Trump Claims He Has Helicopter Trip Records and Threatens to Sue

Former President Donald J. Trump connected Friday day vehemently maintained that helium had erstwhile been successful a dangerous chopper landing with Willie Brown, the erstwhile politician of San Francisco, and insisted helium had records to beryllium it, contempt Mr. Brown’s denial.

In an aggravated telephone telephone to a New York Times newsman arsenic helium landed respective hours distant from his planned rally successful Bozeman, Mont., due to the fact that of a mechanical contented connected his plane, Mr. Trump excoriated The Times for its sum of his meandering quality conference connected Thursday astatine Mar-a-Lago, his backstage nine and home, during which helium told of an exigency landing during a chopper travel that helium said some helium and Mr. Brown had made together.

Mr. Trump was expected to support his rally docket connected Friday arsenic planned, boarding a smaller level to implicit the journey.

Mr. Brown denied connected Thursday that helium had ever flown successful a chopper with Mr. Trump.

It appeared Mr. Trump whitethorn person confused Willie Brown with Jerry Brown, the erstwhile politician of California, with whom Mr. Trump traveled by chopper successful 2018 portion surveying wildfire harm successful the state. But Jerry Brown, who near bureau successful January 2019, said done a spokesman, “There was nary exigency landing and nary treatment of Kamala Harris.”

Willie Brown, who was a fellow of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 1990s, knew Mr. Trump arsenic a imaginable concern subordinate during those years, erstwhile Mr. Trump, past a New York developer, was moving connected caller projects. A biography of Ms. Harris, “Kamala’s Way: An American Life,” reported that Mr. Trump had sent his backstage level for Mr. Brown and Ms. Harris successful 1994 to alert them from Boston to New York City.

“We person the formation records of the helicopter,” Mr. Trump insisted Friday, saying the chopper had landed “in a field,” and indicating that helium intended to merchandise the formation records, earlier shouting that helium was “probably going to sue” implicit the Times article.

When asked to nutrient the formation records, Mr. Trump responded mockingly, repeating the petition successful a sing-song voice. As of aboriginal Friday evening, helium had not provided them.

Mr. Trump has a past of claiming helium volition supply grounds to backmost up his claims but yet not doing so.

He 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.”