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A brief history of how Trump came up with the false claim that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama

Kat Tenbarge,Lauren Frias   

A brief history of how Trump came up with the false claim that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama

Trump Dorian briefing 2
  • Trump has spent the last several days doubling down on his claim that Hurricane Dorian could strike parts of Alabama, despite the state no longer being in the hurricane's path at the time he made the claim.
  • The president's confusion stemmed from earlier forecasts that showed a slight probability of tropical-storm-force winds affecting Alabama, but Trump has since used his misstatement and the reporting on it to boost his narrative that news media is unfairly attacking him.
  • The National Hurricane Center corrected the president, who has since used video manipulation and outdated maps marked with Sharpie to support his false claim, within 20 minutes of his initial incorrect tweet.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

What started out as a clear misunderstanding on President Donald Trump's part has morphed into him attacking the media for reporting on his false claim. In the process of using his Twitter account to retweet official Hurricane Dorian forecasts from the National Hurricane Center, Trump incorrectly stated on Sunday that the storm could hit Alabama.

Despite being corrected within 20 minutes by the National Weather Service, Trump went on to lash out repeatedly against journalists who reported on his false claim, defending himself via outdated maps, video manipulation, and even with a six-day-old map that he had been altered with a Sharpie marker.

Here's how Trump's confusion over Alabama and Hurricane Dorian's trajectory originated, and a timeline of what has happened since, as he continues to double down on his misstatement and attack the news media. 

Read more: Trump may have broken federal law by altering Hurricane Dorian's path on a map to validate his false claim that it could hit Alabama

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