Trump said Dorian could touch Alabama – even after the weather service refuted him



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When a media commented that the president was wrong, he called the report "phony" and insisted that he was right. But his own national weather service had said that he was wrong.

"In addition to Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama will most likely be hit (a lot) harder than expected," the president wrote.

Trump had an interest in launching an alert, as Dorian was quickly growing stronger at that time. But he was wrong to include Alabama in his list of affected states. Alabama borders the Gulf of Mexico but not the Atlantic and has never been predicted to be "hit" by the storm.

Trump's critics suggested that this error showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the geography on the part of the president.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey on Friday authorized the Alabama National Guard to send up to 50 support staff in Florida to help them cope with the impacts of Dorian. She stated that "we are proud to help Florida while they are preparing for the potential impact of Hurricane Dorian".

Trump played golf while Hurricane Dorian threatens the United States
When Trump posted his incorrect tweet Sunday, local meteorologists like James Spann refuted right away. Spann, a veteran forecaster from Alabama who is widely respected for his coverage of tornado outbreaks, responded to Trump at 11:31 and said: "Alabama will not be touched by Dorian at all."
When Spann's tweet became viral and a local resident questioned him, the meteorologist then tweeted "I have no interest in politics. Dorian will not in any way affect Alabama. This is not a political statement. "
the Birmingham, Alabama, branch of the National Meteorological Service D & # 39; agreement. At 11:11, the office had tweeted that "Alabama will NOT see any impact from #Dorian." We repeat, no impact of the #Dorian hurricane will be felt across Alabama. to the east. "

Although this tweet is not a direct response to Trump, he arrived just 20 minutes after the release of the wrong information from the president.

At about the same time, Trump was speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. At 11:14 am (ET), he began by thanking the Texas order forces for reacting to the mass shooting of Saturday in Odessa and Midland. He then introduced a US Coast Guard official who, he informed him, had kept him updated on Dorian's progress.

Highlights of the hurricane season of Atlantic 2019

"We have a lot of great people working right now," Trump said. "We do not know where he's going to hit, but we've got an idea – probably a little different from the original course." The original course was dead in Florida – it seems now that he's heading South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia is going to be hit, Alabama is going to get a piece of it, it looks like, but it can change course and it could go back to Florida. "

Trump was generally right to say that Georgia and the Carolinas were feeling the effects of the hurricane, as well as those of Florida. But at the time, there was no evidence that Alabama "would get a piece of it," as the president claimed.

Trump repeated the false statement an hour later at a FEMA briefing that began at 12:31.

He said Dorian "maybe have a little piece of a great place: it's called Alabama." Alabama, of course, has been an essential source of support for the Trump insurgency campaign in 2015 and 2016. The president said that "Alabama" could even have at least some very strong winds strong and something more than that, it could be up, unfortunately. "

NOAA spokesman Chris Vaccaro confirmed to reporters that Alabama was not expected to be hit by the hurricane.

On Monday, several media outlets pointed out that Trump's information was incorrect. On ABC, "World News Tonight," White House correspondent Jon Karl said Trump "misrepresented the possible trajectory of the storm." Karl 's report had a bit of bite from Trump at the FEMA briefing, which took place over an hour after the National Meteorological Service' s office in Birmingham had sent the correct information.

Trump obviously watched the report because he tweeted a complaint. At first, he misspelled Karl's name and tagged the wrong person. Then he deleted the tweet and republished with the correct spelling.

"I hinted at FEMA yesterday that, with Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, even Alabama could possibly come into play, which was true. did a big deal about it … while in fact some original scenarios, it was actually accurate that the Alabama could have been hurt.Always good to be prepared! "Trump wrote.

He therefore suggested citing "some original scenarios" when he said Sunday that Alabama could be "hit" by Dorian.

But his own comments at Sunday's FEMA briefing contradicted this explanation. At the meeting, he said that the information on Alabama "have unfortunately come to light".

Who misinformed the president on the forecast trail? It's unclear. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham responded to CNN's question by stating, "At the Camp David briefing, the President and others present learned that it was important not to Focus on the trajectory of the hurricane Despite the fact that Dorian eventually made it to the mainland, "the extent of the wind field is large" and there remained "a lot of uncertainty." His comments simply noted these points, and with Alabama's proximity to Florida, that makes sense. "

Florida and Alabama share a border, but Alabama is about 250 miles from the east coast of Florida at its closest point.

On Sunday, around 11 am ET, about the time Trump started to bring Alabama, the hurricane winds blew 45 miles from the center of the storm and the tropical winds, 140 miles from the center.

At no time did the government predict that winds of a hurricane force could reach any part of Alabama.

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