Trump Refuses to Drop False Claim That Alabama Was in Hurricane’s Path

The petty obsession has entered its fourth day.

Stefani Reynolds/ZUMA

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President Donald Trump on Thursday continued to insist that “certain models” had once projected Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama, extending a now four-day obsession despite official contradictions from the state’s National Weather Service. 

“What I said was accurate!” Trump complained on Twitter. “All Fake News in order to demean!”

The tweets come one day after Trump was exposed in a widely mocked video that showed him referring to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map that had been altered in order to back his original—and incorrect—warning that the state was included in Dorian’s path.

Shortly after Trump made the claim on Sunday, the National Weather Service of Birmingham, Alabama, pushed back: “Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. “We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama.”

Rather than acknowledge the error, Trump has refused to let go. 

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday when asked if the map had been altered. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley later confirmed that indeed, a black Sharpie was used on the map, but he blasted the media for unfairly focusing on the detail.

The video has since prompted widespread ridicule, even disbelief over how the president remained fixated over an issue so trivial. Others have raised the possibility that Trump violated the law by knowingly promoting a false weather report.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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