Trump digs in on Alabama hurricane projection: ‘Check out maps’

President Trump doubled down yet again on Friday over his earlier statements that Alabama was projected to be within Hurricane Dorian’s path in a series of tweets defending his use of out-of-date maps in a Sunday tweet urging residents of the region to stay safe.

After days of the issue making headlines, Trump lashed out at the “fake news media,” claiming that he “properly said” that Alabama was in the storm’s path.

{mosads}”The Fake News Media was fixated on the fact that I properly said, at the beginnings of Hurricane Dorian, that in addition to Florida & other states, Alabama may also be grazed or hit. They went Crazy, hoping against hope that I made a mistake (which I didn’t),” Trump tweeted.

“Check out maps…This nonsense has never happened to another President. Four days of corrupt reporting, still without an apology. But there are many things that the Fake News Media has not apologized to me for, like the Witch Hunt, or SpyGate! The LameStream Media and their Democrat partner should start playing it straight. It would be so much better for our Country!” he added.

The Fake News Media was fixated on the fact that I properly said, at the beginnings of Hurricane Dorian, that in addition to Florida & other states, Alabama may also be grazed or hit. They went Crazy, hoping against hope that I made a mistake (which I didn’t). Check out maps…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2019

….partner should start playing it straight. It would be so much better for our Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2019

Trump has pushed back on reporters’ characterization of his Sunday comments for days, insisting that an out-of-date map showing Alabama in one potential path of the storm was an official prediction from experts despite insistence from the National Weather Service that Alabama was not in the storm’s path.

Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian. We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east. #alwx

— NWS Birmingham (@NWSBirmingham) September 1, 2019

On Wednesday, the president sparked further confusion and headlines when he displayed a map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that appeared to include a path for the storm over Alabama that had been hand-drawn with a marker over the official projections.

“And that would have affected a lot of other states,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “But that was the original chart. It was going to hit not only Florida, but Georgia. It could have — it was going toward the Gulf. That was what was originally projected, and it took a right turn, and ultimately, hopefully we’re going to be lucky.”

Dorian, which was downgraded to a Category 1 storm, made landfall Friday in Cape Hatteras, N.C.