Donald Trump on Wednesday displayed a map of Hurricane Dorian’s forecast path that appeared to feature a bubble scribbled on to include Alabama, a state which Trump had earlier insisted, against direct proof, would be hit.
For reference, here’s a zoomed-in picture of Trump’s map:
“It was going to be hitting directly, and it would have affected a lot of other states,” Trump said in the Oval Office Wednesday, alongside Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan. “But that was the original chart. You see, it was going to hit not only Florida, but Georgia. It was going toward the Gulf. That was what was originally projected.”
Here is the full video via the @WhiteHouse [1]. pic.twitter.com/3Q1Rdi8yFT [2]
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) September 4, 2019 [3]
Since Sunday morning, Trump repeatedly and emphatically insisted that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama, even as meteorologists from the local and federal level — aka his own weather service — refuted the claim.
After railing against the “phony” reporting denying the accuracy of his statement, Trump ultimately blamed his statements on “certain original scenarios” that never came to be.
During a quick press gaggle on Wednesday Trump was asked whether the map was altered.
HAPPENING NOW: @realDonaldTrump [4] is speaking at an event to unveil $1.8bn in grants to combat opioid addiction. He appears to be having trouble speaking, as if he has a dry mouth.
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) September 4, 2019 [5]
Now he's taking questions, claiming that there had been a "95 percent chance" that Alabama would have been hit by Hurricane #Dorian [6], which is a ridiculous lie that the @NWS [7] has debunked repeatedly.
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) September 4, 2019 [8]
Asked about the sharpie lines on the tracking map that appeared to have been added to make it look like Alabama was in the Hurricane's path, @realDonaldTrump [4] said "I don't know."
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) September 4, 2019 [9]
Trump didn’t deny it, he simply said, “I don’t know.”
WATCH:
REPORTER: That map you showed us today, it looked like it almost had like a Sharpie on it.
TRUMP: I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. pic.twitter.com/d2oZemOshh [10]
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) September 4, 2019 [11]