Perhaps one of the notorious moments the president put Sharpie-to-paper was when he allegedly altered a forecast map of Hurricane Dorian, in a superficial scandal later dubbed “SharpieGate.”
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In September 2019, ahead of the devastation brought in by Hurricane Dorian, the president said the storm was headed to Alabama.
“In addition to Florida – South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated,” Trump tweeted at the time. “Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever. Already category 5. BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!”
In a bid to quell public panic regarding the former president’s errant forecast, the Birmingham branch of the National Weather Service set the record straight, blatantly correcting his prediction.
“Alabama will NOT see any impacts from Dorian,” the agency said in a tweet the same day. “We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane Dorian will be felt across Alabama. The system will remain too far east.”
But Trump doubled down once again on his claims and refused to accept the NWS’ forecast, instead presenting a map of Hurricane Dorian’s path with a black Sharpie stroke extending the storm’s path over Alabama. The incident later became known as “SharpieGate,” prompting its fair share of internet mockery and memes in its wake.
