Barbara ResThe Trump Organization’s former vice president of construction and development denied the former president on Saturday Donald TrumpHe said he rode with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in a helicopter that had to make an emergency landing in the 1990s.
“We were working on a very large project in California,” Res told NBC News’ Ali Vitali on MSNBC, adding, “We were working with local politicians and state politicians. And one of the very important politicians was this man, [former California state Sen.] Nate Holden.”
At a news conference Thursday, Trump recounted the story of the helicopter ride with Brown, telling reporters that “we were in a helicopter going together to a certain place, and there was an emergency landing.”
“It wasn’t a pleasant landing, and Willie was, he was a little worried. So I know him. I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years, but he told me terrible things [Vice President Kamala Harris]”, Trump added, referring to the fact that Harris and Brown briefly dated.
Asked whether Trump often mixed up the identities of Brown and Holden, Res said Saturday: “I don’t remember. This is 30 years ago, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Donald doesn’t mix them up in his head.
“I really think,” Res added, “that Nate was a councilman and Willie was a big guy. He was an important, influential guy… [Trump] wanted to be with Willie because Willie was an important guy.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story, but on Friday the former president responded to a New York Times account of the helicopter story, saying, “There were ‘logs,’ maintenance records and witnesses. There was also a ‘Willie and I’ story.”
Shortly after the former president’s press conference on Thursday, Brown shot down Trump’s story. On Friday, he told NBC News, “No, I haven’t” been in a helicopter with Donald Trump.
“Do you like me?” Brown said before confirming that he has never spoken to Trump about Harris.
When he heard Trump’s story, Brown added, “I laughed. I just assumed he was in the helicopter with someone Black and he just made a mistake and thought it was me.”
On Friday, Holden first told Politico that he was the man on the helicopter ride with Trump and that the couple and several others were traveling to Atlantic City for a tour of Trump’s new Taj Mahal casino.
His account was backed up by Res, who told MSNBC, “It wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, we’re going to crash.’ It was just, we can’t go on, so we found the nearest airport and [the pilots] got us to Teterboro, and everything was fine.”
“Donald was terrified,” Res said. “And when the whole thing was over, he was joking with Nate Holden, who happens to be a black man, and he said, ‘Nate, you turned white.’
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
