San Francisco … It’s always great to be in San Francisco, but last Thursday was an especially great time, when Donald Trump’s helicopter tale landed like a thud.
California political reporters were stunned when, in the middle of a news conference, Trump suddenly spun a riveting story of barely escaping death in a helicopter with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown – a scary flight during which, according to Trump, Brown never stopped trashing then-California Attorney General Kamala Harris.
The San Francisco Chronicle’s Joe Garifolo jumped into action. As he told me on my podcast, Garifolo called Brown on his cell at Sam’s Grill, Brown’s daily lunch spot. Brown told him to call back later, after he’d finished lunch. When Garifolo called again, Brown refuted the entire Trump tale.
No, Brown insisted, he had never been in a helicopter with Donald Trump. No, he did not trash Kamala Harris to Donald Trump. And no, he did not crash land in a helicopter with Donald Trump. Never accused of being shy, Brown quipped: “Believe me, if I’d ever crash-landed in a helicopter, you’d know about it!”
Soon other reporters fleshed out the story. Trump was dead wrong about everything. He did not take a helicopter ride with Willie Brown. He took one with then-Gov. Jerry Brown to view damage from California wildfires. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom was also onboard. Both Brown and Newsom confirmed there was no problem with the aircraft, no emergency landing, and no discussion of Kamala Harris.
Then it got even more bizarre. Former state Sen. Nate Holden of Los Angeles revealed that, years ago, he had, in fact, once shared a helicopter ride with Trump — from New York City — that experienced engine failure and made a bumpy landing. But, again, no talk about Kamala Harris.
In other words, Trump just made it all up, confusing the Black Willie Brown with a white Jerry Brown, a Brown with a Holden, and New York City with California. He probably also invented the trash talk about Kamala Harris. One can only imagine how Republican leaders and the media would have condemned President Biden if he had made such a wild string of errors.
It’s tempting to laugh off Trump’s helicopter fantasy as a momentary lapse of memory. But it’s much more serious than that and should be taken more seriously for a couple of reasons.
One, Trump’s goal (which got lost in the helicopter story) was to respond to an obviously planted question by spreading an old attack line on Harris: that she only got where she is today because she had been in a relationship with Willie Brown. It’s the ugly misogynist smear used against any successful woman. It’s sexist, disgusting, and an insult to all women of America.
Two, Trump’s phony helicopter tale does not stand alone. It’s just the latest in a string of weird comments. This is the same man who still falsely insists he won the last election. The same man who says Biden is going to change his mind and steal the nomination from Harris. The same man who dishonestly claims he drew a bigger crowd on the Ellipse on Jan. 6 than Martin Luther King did at his “I Have A Dream” speech.
It’s time the media stopped treating Donald Trump like a normal candidate and started portraying him for what he is: An angry old man, the oldest man ever to run for president, with increasing signs of mental health issues — and clearly unfit to be trusted with the office of president.
Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”
