Trump Doctored Hurricane Dorian Map to Back False Claim That Alabama Was in Its Path

[PeteS in CA]

Absolutely right @PeteS in CA . My memory is bad these days but not so bad that I can't recall that forcast.

Just for a bit more amusement, here's the possible paths various model projected when Dorian was still a tropical storm:



Dorian didn't go over Cuba, either, as two outlier tracks showed. OTOH, one outlier track did get the track pretty close. But most model had Dorian crossing Florida, and some, hitting Alabama.

[Cyber Liberty]

image uploader

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1169705282123046913

You sure the Boys in the White House Basement didn't forge that?  Like with a Sharpie?   

[PeteS in CA]

Ya know, something - someone - seems missing from the discussion in this thread.

[EdJames]

You sure the Boys in the White House Basement didn't forge that?  Like with a Sharpie?   

 

[Sanguine]

Did you notice that the source of that map was NOAA and the National Weather Service?

Did you notice that while one edge of the Day 4-5 possibility cone did bend somewhat northward toward South Carolina, the other edge had Dorian possibly going into the Gulf of Mexico?

Did you notice that the NOAA/NWS map did not include in its possibility cone what Dorian actually did, turn NE away from the US entirely?

If you want to call what someone drew on Trump's map a "guess" it was based on the map provided by NOAA and the NWS, not "no real knowledge".

Yes, exactly.  This is a beyond silly story.

[Cyber Liberty]

Yes, exactly.  This is a beyond silly story.

Silly as it is, the Mainstream Media is all over it like it's the end of the country, as they know it.  Saw some gal on CNN who was livid about the lawbreaking Trump committed with a weather map!  He drew on it with a Sharpie, for God's sake!  Impeachment material right there.  She was serious about it.

This is Criminal Silly.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Did you notice that the source of that map was NOAA and the National Weather Service?

Did you notice that while one edge of the Day 4-5 possibility cone did bend somewhat northward toward South Carolina, the other edge had Dorian possibly going into the Gulf of Mexico?

Did you notice that the NOAA/NWS map did not include in its possibility cone what Dorian actually did, turn NE away from the US entirely?

If you want to call what someone drew on Trump's map a "guess" it was based on the map provided by NOAA and the NWS, not "no real knowledge".

I noticed that the storm stayed within the possibility cone in the "map" (or "maps", the one you posted not being the one in the original image), while AL (not the same as going into GoM) was never projected as a possibility. 

[OfTheCross]

You sure the Boys in the White House Basement didn't forge that?  Like with a Sharpie?   

Guess again, Sparky.

these excuses would make sense if he hadn't Tweeted out that it was going to Alabama on 09/01/2019

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1168174613827899393

By that time all the maps were clear that Dorian was NOT going to Alabama.



That's why the NWS had to tweet out a correction because Donald was lying to the people.

Either he was too busy golfing to get an update on the storm or he's just not smart.

I give him credit, though. Anyone else would've deleted the tweet and moved on by now. He got out his Sharpie and doubled-down

[Neverdul]

Guess again, Sparky.

Yet....

So guess again, again Sparky.

https://twitter.com/AlabamaNG/status/1167776017517355016

#HurricaneDorian models are beginning to more consistently show the storm tracking away from Alabama. We stand with our
@FLGuard
 brethren, however. We have troops and equipment ready to head south when you call. #OneGuard #OneMission

Note the date of the AL National Guard's updated Tweet  - Saturday August 31st. A full day before Trump's statement about Dorian hitting Alabama which was on Sunday September 1st. And I would also mention that by this time the Al National Guard Twitter feed doesn't get it quite right even then because they wouldn't exactly be heading due south to to help their brethren given the Dorian's path on August 31st. But no big deal, I get their point.

But since when does anyone get their up to date weather forecasts from a state National Guard's Twitter feed that BTW was promoting September's National Preparedness Month, live alone the POTUS who I would imagine would be briefed by, oh I don't know, federal agencies like NOAA, NWS or the NHC? Keep in mind he repeated this claim of Alabama being in the path of Dorian during a briefing at FEMA when he was being briefed, presumably by those best in the know about the hurricane's path and not by the Al National Guard's Twitter feed. Less than 30 minutes later the Birmingham branch of the National Weather Service tweeted out a clarification; "Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian," the organization tweeted. "We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east."

Why does Trump do this? He made a misstatement. We all do it. We are all human (well most of us admit to being human, Trump, I'm not so sure about).

1. He could just brush it, along with any criticisms or jokes off and let it go and it would go away and probably quickly. 2. He could own up to making a misstatement and correct his previous comment or 3. He could make a joke about it and say something like, "And this is why I'm POTUS and not a weather forecaster LOL!".

But no.

He has to double, triple, quadruple down and more and insist he was right all along. For five days and counting now. And the longer and more ridiculously he tries to prove he was somehow right, the more ridiculous he makes himself along with those supporters who can't admit he could ever be wrong, ever!

And the map with the hand drawn Sharpie bubble in a ridiculous and comical if it wasn't such a pathetic attempted to prove himself right along with the numerous subsequent Tweets? - if I didn't know better I would swear it was an SNL skit or from the Onion or the Babylon Bee.

Speaking of which:

https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-holds-up-map-suggesting-hurricane-may-hit-coast-of-middle-earth

Trump Holds Up Map Suggesting Hurricane May Hit Coast Of Middle-Earth

FWIW, when Obama mispronounced "Corpsman/corpse-man” or gaffed "57 States" among others, imagine our outrage and well deserved mocking if he'd gone on for days and days trying to defend it somehow, that it was wasn't a mistake or misstatement, if he'd produced a map of the United States marked up with a Sharpie to somehow prove there were actually 57 states if you include, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands or Greenland etc.

If you read up on the traits of someone with a narcissistic personality disorder, Trump fits the description:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder

One of the other major traits of a narcissist is never being able to admit fault and being hyper sensitive to any sort of criticism.

There is also a name for people who fall under the spell of a narcissist hook line and sinker and fail to see it - we call them "co-dependent".

Have you ever thought of changing your screen name to "Co-Dependent In Virginia"

JK/

Carry on.

[Sanguine]

There may be some codependency involved but in this case she's right.  This is a stupid issue and makes never-Trumpers look frivolous.

[Cyber Liberty]

these excuses would make sense if he hadn't Tweeted out that it was going to Alabama on 09/01/2019

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1168174613827899393

By that time all the maps were clear that Dorian was NOT going to Alabama.



That's why the NWS had to tweet out a correction because Donald was lying to the people.

Either he was too busy golfing to get an update on the storm or he's just not smart.

I give him credit, though. Anyone else would've deleted the tweet and moved on by now. He got out his Sharpie and doubled-down

We got 'im now!^®

Somebody get Nandler and Schitt on the horn!

[Neverdul]

There may be some codependency involved but in this case she's right.  This is a stupid issue and makes never-Trumpers look frivolous.

No. The only one really making this a "stupid issue" is Trump himself. I think in sports they call it an "unforced error"

Of course the MSM would have made an issue of his mistake of saying on Monday that Dorian was going to hit Alabama when by then it was obviously not the case, but it would have been a minor blip on the radar and soon a non-story if he'd said he misspoke or just ignored it.

But, no, Trump chose to elevate it from a relatively minor gaff to a major story by appearing on camera with that idiotic hand drawn Sharpie edited map and his subsequent tweets, even today, defending his mistake as being not a mistake at all and blaming it all on "fake news" - as if drawing a fake bubble on an official NWS forecast map isn't it's own sort of "fake news".

When Trump does something I think is right and good, I've no problem commending him. But every time he does something good he undermines it, sometimes by many folds by his Tweets and statements and temper tantrums.

It's as if every step forward, his own unforced errors like this put us backward another five or more.

His own actions play into the narrative that he's unstable, unintelligent, disengaged and incapable of listening to advisers and experts or capable of reading and comprehending anything more than a 140 character tweet.

And to be honest, I can't necessarily disagree with the above when he pulls a stupid stunt like this. 

[Sanguine]

No. The only one really making this a "stupid issue" is Trump himself. I think in sports they call it an "unforced error"

Of course the MSM would have made an issue of his mistake of saying on Monday that Dorian was going to hit Alabama when by then it was obviously not the case, but it would have been a minor blip on the radar and soon a non-story if he'd said he misspoke or just ignored it.

But, no, Trump chose to elevate it from a relatively minor gaff to a major story by appearing on camera with that idiotic hand drawn Sharpie edited map and his subsequent tweets, even today, defending his mistake as being not a mistake at all and blaming it all on "fake news" - as if drawing a fake bubble on an official NWS forecast map isn't it's own sort of "fake news".

When Trump does something I think is right and good, I've no problem commending him. But every time he does something good he undermines it, sometimes by many folds by his Tweets and statements and temper tantrums.

It's as if every step forward, his own unforced errors like this put us backward another five or more.

His own actions play into the narrative that he's unstable, unintelligent, disengaged and incapable of listening to advisers and experts or capable of reading and comprehending anything more than a 140 character tweet.

And to be honest, I can't necessarily disagree with the above when he pulls a stupid stunt like this.

We're adults and we can agree to disagree.

[Neverdul]

And ETA, while Trump's attempt at weather forecasting via Sharpie is dominating the news cycle and even our discussion here, meanwhile in the Bahama's there is devastation on a nearly unprecedented scale and a desperate and on-going humanitarian crisis.

Yes, the Bahama's is not part of the United States, it is a commonwealth of the UK, but FWIW a lot of Americans make their home and their living there.

But regardless of who lives there, their nationality or race, the destruction is horrendous and their suffering is very real.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OYATrVX6rE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37VKwPhyHYs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLa6C8hrmLc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PypGi8M29Q

Seriously. Perhaps we all, including Trump, should quit arguing about whether or not Alabama was ever in danger from Dorian (it wasn't) and start doing something about our close neighbors who are in desperate need of immediate help.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

And ETA, while Trump's attempt at weather forecasting via Sharpie is dominating the news cycle and even our discussion here, meanwhile in the Bahama's there is devastation on a nearly unprecedented scale and a desperate and on-going humanitarian crisis.

Yes, the Bahama's is not part of the United States, it is a commonwealth of the UK, but FWIW a lot of Americans make their home and their living there.

But regardless of who lives there, their nationality or race, the destruction is horrendous and their suffering is very real.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OYATrVX6rE


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37VKwPhyHYs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLa6C8hrmLc


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PypGi8M29Q

Seriously. Perhaps we all, including Trump, should quit arguing about whether or not Alabama was ever in danger from Dorian (it wasn't) and start doing something about our close neighbors who are in desperate need of immediate help.

What do you mean, "start"?

[aligncare]

Yes, exactly.  This is a beyond silly story.

It is a stupid story except for the fact that the press used it—surprise!—as an opportunity to slam the president.

The lead lie every half hour on radio network news was the same: Trump “doctored” and made “false claims.”

Once again Trump broke the media’s brains and mush oozed out.

[OfTheCross]

It is a stupid story except for the fact that the press used it—surprise!—as an opportunity to slam the president.

The lead lie every half hour on radio network news was the same: Trump “doctored” and made “false claims.”

Once again Trump broke the media’s brains and mush oozed out.

You're calling out the press for asking questions?

Why not call out Trump for being wrong?

Why not call him out for covering it up in plain sight?

Why not call him out for being too immature or sensitive to admit he made a mistake and dragging this out for days?

His Twitter is full of forecast information. Why doesn't he change the narrative instead of doubling down on his 'crime'

[Right_in_Virginia]

There may be some codependency involved but in this case she's right.  This is a stupid issue and makes never-Trumpers look frivolous.

Let me get this straight  @Sanguine .  I post one tweet from the Alabama National Guard preparing for the impact of Hurricane Dorian and @Neverdul posts a page of video links, articles, photos and commentary and you're both calling *me* "codependent?   

I don't care which one of you draws the short straw, but one of you needs to invest in an English dictionary and share it with the other; and sooner rather than later.   

[libertybele]

A couple of things here.  Living in FL which is a state prone to hurricanes, the forecasters are criticized if they over react or under react to the threat of a hurricane.  From my own experience, hurricanes are very unpredictable.  While technology has improved to predict the projected path, they can turn on a dime and they can increase or decrease in intensity just as quickly.  When Charley came through in '04, the hurricane's projected path was to make landfall in Tampa, about 135 miles north of us.  At the last moment, Charley, a CAT 4 turned and made landfall appx. 100 miles south of that projection and devastated the area.  We had very little time to prepare or evacuate.  In fact, there was only one forecaster that called that projection correctly, but it was too late. We were stuck.  No time to get out.  Since then the area forecasters would rather error and evacuate areas unnecessarily and widen the cone than to be wrong and lose lives.

So what if Trump, NOAA, etc., showed AL being in the cone??  Dorian could have very easily affected AL; then people would be complaining that they weren't warned to be prepared and Trump and others still would have been blamed for being wrong.

Instead of all this ridiculous focus and energy being on finding fault with Trump for including AL, redrawing the map, etc.,  the focus and energy should be spent on helping those in the Bahamas who were pummeled by this hurricane or those in the Carolinas who are seeing massive flooding!!!

The priority and focus should be on helping the victims not showing their hatred towards this President.

[Sanguine]

Let me get this straight  @Sanguine .  I post one tweet from the Alabama National Guard preparing for the impact of Hurricane Dorian and @Neverdul posts a page of video links, articles, photos and commentary and you're both calling *me* "codependent?   

I don't care which one of you draws the short straw, but one of you needs to invest in an English dictionary and share it with the other; and sooner rather than later.   

No, ma'am, I did not call you codependent.  I was responding to another poster.

@Right_in_Virginia

[XenaLee]

He would probably have been OK if he just said, "Look, I don't want any State to fall through the FEMA Preparation cracks.  I included Alabama in an abundance of caution."

Making a stink over a weather map is just the latest in a long series of silly attacks.

Well what 'else' are they gonna do?  They're desperate.   More desperate than they have ever been.  The term 'grasping at paper straws' comes to mind....

[skeeter]

Well what 'else' are they gonna do?  They're desperate.   More desperate than they have ever been.  The term 'grasping at paper straws' comes to mind....

Poor idiots are still trying for that kill shot.

Remember when the media could take out a presidential candidate with a single incident at an electronic point of sales machine? Or the spelling of a stupid vegetable? Doesn't work anymore.

One day they may find they actually need to engage on the issues.

[PeteS in CA]

There may be some codependency involved but in this case she's right.  This is a stupid issue and makes never-Trumpers look frivolous.

  I was thinking "petty" and "obtuse", but being a relative noob wanted to avoid even the appearance of coming close to a personal attack.

[Bigun]

I was thinking "petty" and "obtuse", but being a relative noob wanted to avoid even the appearance of coming close to a personal attack.

Those terms are far too mild IMHO but what the heck do I know?

[XenaLee]

Poor idiots are still trying for that kill shot.

Remember when the media could take out a presidential candidate with a single incident at an electronic point of sales machine? Or the spelling of a stupid vegetable? Doesn't work anymore.

One day they may find they actually need to engage on the issues.

Lol.... they can't even do that.   Their stance on "the issues" is absurd, asinine and anti-American.  And anyone with even half a remaining working brain cell understands that.   They can't engage on anything but name-calling, vitriol, spewing bile and lying.   You know... the atypical Democrat shtick.