Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Trump uses the Most Magic of Magic Markers to support "Dorian will hit Alabama" claim



AROUND THE BLOCK

Even I can’t make this up!!!! 

Trump claimed Dorian could hit Alabama even after weather service refuted it


Displays Altered Hurricane Dorian Map Showing Alabama in Its Path


After incredibly, incredulously, unbelievably and extraordinarily inaccurately claiming that, “…in addition to Florida -- South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit much harder than anticipated," President Donald Trump showed a map of Hurricane Dorian's trajectory in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon that appeared to be an attempt to support his assertion that the storm would potentially affect a large section of Alabama.

"That was the original chart, and you see it was going to hit not only Florida but South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama" Trump claimed Wednesday during a briefing, while showing a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map with a black line encircling a portion of Alabama.

Trump claimed the map he presented today was the original forecast. 

But a similar image released by the White House last week did not include any impact on Alabama in its forecast. In fact, it is the exact same image without the black line.

Here is the original NOAA forecast map:


And here is the map Trump displayed today to support the "Dorian will hit Alabama much harder than anticipated."


In the image Trump showed today, there is an incongruous black line showing a track that includes Alabama. The black line over Alabama looks suspiciously like it was added with a magic marker.

As Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press noted, “It is common knowledge that President Trump is very fond of using black magic markers. So, it is entirely plausible that he himself added the line over Alabama to substantiate his original claim.

"I know that Alabama was in the original forecast, they thought it would get a piece of it," Trump said later on Wednesday. "We have a better map ... in all cases Alabama was hit, if not lightly in some cases pretty hard. They gave it a 95 percent chance."

Asked about the discrepancies with the original map, Trump said: "I don't know. I don't know."

Readers of Around the Block are aware that I often alter, or Photoshop, images for satirical or comic effect. And, I’d be the first to acknowledge my efforts are often amateurish. But really, this is the President of the United States, for goodness sake. If he wanted to make something up couldn’t he have found someone in the White House press office to do a more professional mockup?

If you’re going to fake news, Mr. President, do it right!


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