Letters to the Editor: Which California politician was on that helicopter, Mr. President?

To the editor: Characterizing Donald Trump’s inability to distinguish former L.A. City Councilmember Nate Holden from former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown as racist seems very unfair to Trump. (“Willie Brown wasn’t on that frightening helicopter ride with Trump. Here’s who was,” Aug. 10)

Maybe it’s nothing more than when the former president couldn’t remember the difference between Social Security and Medicare, or when he blanked out at the June 28 debate.

Oh, wait, that was President Biden, not Trump, and Trump portrayed it as a sign of disabling senility. My mistake! All old white men look alike to me.

(P.S.: I am an old white man.)

Thomas Bailey, Long Beach

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To the editor: I recently celebrated my 80th birthday. My linear memory is not what it used to be, and I sometimes misremember the events of my past.

I can understand Trump remembering an incident from 1990 involving a helicopter that nearly crashed, and that there was a Black politician on board. I’m not sure why he remembered the man as a former San Francisco mayor, but I’m sure that he has evidence including “logs, maintenance records, and witnesses” to prove that it happened, as he wrote online.

That doesn’t mean that it involved Brown or has any relevance to his campaign against the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

I recall the former president telling us that he sleeps only four to five hours per night. I think he should try to get more rest before running for reelection.

Wilson Smith, Santa Barbara