An old insult from Donald Trump found new significance this week when the former president shared a questionable story about a perilous ride with Willie Brown that the California politician says never happened.
Trump has been subjected to ridicule, raised eyebrows, and fact-checks since he told a later-disproved story to a gaggle of reporters summoned to Mar-a-Lago Thursday for a press conference.
“I know Willie Brown very well," Trump told reporters. "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. This was not a pleasant landing. And Willie was — he was a little concerned. So I know — I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about her.”
Brown has called this story "creative fiction," the New York Times suggested Trump confused him with former California Gov. Jerry Brown, and current Gov. Gavin Newsom laughed it off as "complete B.S."
On Friday, Washington Post analyst Philip Bump had a novel take on the "bizarre" tale that involves a new player in Trump's strange rhetorical game: journalist Brian Williams.
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Williams, Bump reminds his readers, was ruthlessly mocked by Trump when reports revealed the former NBC anchor had misrepresented a helicopter ride during the war in Iraq.
Williams claimed his helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and was forced to land, but subsequent reporting revealed the helicopter was under fire from small arms and forced to land because of a sandstorm.
The anchor was yanked from the airwaves in 2015 and suspended for six months.
Trump reveled in Williams' temporary downfall for years.
“Lyin’ Brian Williams of MSDNC, a Concast Scam Company, wouldn’t know the truth if it was nailed to his wooden forehead,” Trump posted to then-Twitter in early 2020.
“Remember when he lied about his bravery in a helicopter? Totally made up story."
Bump takes a sarcastic tone as he draws a comparison on Friday.
"It has long been the case that Trump is immune to hypocrisy," Bump writes. "But the similarity here is striking: Williams lied about a brush with death in a helicopter? He made up a story for effect? Heaven forfend."
