It's no secret that Donald Trump has a habit of spewing misleading statements and flat-out lies; the most recent of which were his claims that Hurricane Dorian was expected to hit Alabama "harder than anticipated."
Minutes after Trump's tweet, the National Weather Service in Birmingham reassured residents that the hurricane would not affect Alabama, as the "system will remain too far east."
Trump, of course, refused to own up to the mistake and doubled down on his claim that Alabama would be hit. He even blasted ABC News' Jonathan Karl for fact-checking the inaccurate statement.
But Trump wasn't done. During Wednesday's Oval Office briefing on Hurricane Dorian, POTUS referenced a days-old forecast map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Many people quickly noticed that the map appeared to have been altered with a Sharpie to include Alabama in Dorian's path.
"We had, actually, our original chart was that it was going to be hit—hitting Florida directly," Trump said as he pointed to the graphic dated Aug. 29. "That was the original chart. It could’ve, uh, was going towards the Gulf [of Mexico]. That was what was originally projected. And it took a right turn and ultimately, hopefully we're going to be lucky."
A reporter later asked Trump if the black line over Alabama was made with a permanent marker. Trump's response? "I don't know. I don't know."
Weather journalist Dennis Mersereau has since pointed out that it is against federal law to knowingly disseminate falsified National Weather Service forecasts.
Per 18 U.S. Code 2074:
Whoever knowingly issues or publishes any counterfeit weather forecast or warning of weather conditions falsely representing such forecast or warning to have been issued or published by the Weather Bureau, United States Signal Service, or other branch of the Government service, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ninety days, or both.
You can check out some of the reactions to #SharpieGate below.
