Politics & Government
Ex-LA Councilman Nate Holden: Trump Confused Me For Willie Brown
Trump recently told a story about a scary helicopter ride with former SF Mayor Willie Brown, but he was actually talking about Nate Holden.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Former Los Angeles City Councilman and state Senator Nate Holden, who experienced a scary helicopter ride with Donald Trump in 1990, set the record straight Sunday after the former president retold the experience and apparently confused him with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.
"I call Willie Brown. `Donald Trump has problems. He is saying you were in the helicopter ride that required an emergency landing.' Willie said, `No, no.' So, then he must be talking about me then," Holden, 95, told City News Service.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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On Thursday, during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump claimed that Brown was aboard the helicopter with him when due to system issues the pilot had to conduct an emergency landing. Trump has insisted it was Brown with him that day in 1990.
Trump has referenced that ride with Brown several times, including in his book "Letters to Trump," where he described the event as "a little scary for both of us."
Trump continues to maintain that he was with Brown on the flight.
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"I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing," Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago. "This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was, he was a little concerned. So I know him, I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven't seen him in years."
Trump added that Brown had told him "terrible things" about Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who dated Brown in the 1990s. Trump has been asked whether he thought their relationship played a role in Harris' career ascendance.
"He had a big part in what happened with Kamala," the former president said.
"My question was if it was intentional or that (Trump) didn't know any better. If he didn't know any better then he doesn't know how to distinguish one Black person from another," Holden told CNS. "If it is intentional, he was trying to mislead the public."
Holden told CNS that he met Trump at Trump Tower for a trip to Atlantic City, where they were going to tour the Taj Mahal casino.
Holden, who represented the city's 10th Council District from 1987 to 2003, had been in communication with Trump and his staff regarding a proposal to build on the site of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The former lawmaker said the project was in his district, and he had supported it.
The retired lawmaker said he felt a bit of concern about the helicopter ride, citing another helicopter crash in 1989 over Forked River, New Jersey, where five people died, including three high-level executives of Trump's casinos.
Holden recalled the start of the flight to New Jersey, and Trump saying "Look at that skyline. It's one of the most beautiful skylines in the world, and I'm part of it."
He said the pilot reassured everyone on the flight, which included Trump's late brother, Robert, attorney Harvey Freedman and Barbara Res, Trump's former executive vice president of construction and development. He also recalled the helicopter shaking and some mechanical issues.
Once it safely landed at an airport in New Jersey, the flight crew began repairing the aircraft. Holden told CNS that they should have used another helicopter, and he felt upset that his life was in jeopardy.
