CNN issued a snarky response to a tweet from White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham pointing out that the cable news network incorrectly labeled Alabama as Mississippi in a graphic.
Responding to unrelenting criticism of President Trump’s assertion that the deadly Hurricane Dorian was once headed for Alabama, Grisham was quick to notice that CNN had swapped the two southern states while discussing emergency declarations ahead of the storm. “Hi @CNN, I know you guys are busy analyzing lines on a map, but perhaps you use your time to study up on U.S. geography?”
Hi @CNN, I know you guys are busy analyzing lines on a map, but perhaps you use your time to study up on U.S. geography? pic.twitter.com/kVgifHfPK4
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) September 5, 2019
CNN corrected the visual error shortly after broadcasting it, but quickly pointed out that Grisham might also have errors to correct. “Thanks, Stephanie,” the tweet said. “Yes, we made a mistake (which we fixed in less than 30 seconds). And now we are admitting it. You all should try it sometime.”
Thanks, Stephanie. Yes, we made a mistake (which we fixed in less than 30 seconds). And now we are admitting it. You all should try it sometime.
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) September 5, 2019
The CNN Communications team seemed also to be criticizing Trump for a presidential error in forecasting. Trump repeatedly indicated over the past week that Alabama would be in the path of Dorian, despite a lack of evidence and official forecasts to the contrary. On Wednesday, he spoke about the potential damage of the storm with a map from the National Hurricane Center that seemed to have a marker-drawn inclusion of Alabama.
Later in the day, Trump seemed to acknowledge that Alabama was unlikely to be effected significantly by Dorian, but remained steadfast that it was originally in the damage path. “I know that Alabama was in the original forecast,” he said. “They thought it would get a piece of it. We have a better map.”
When asked specifically about the marker edit to the NHC map, the president replied simply, “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
“The President of the United States altered a National Hurricane Center map with a sharpie to falsely extend the official forecast toward Alabama so he didn’t have to admit he was wrong in a tweet,” said weather reporter Dennis Mersereau.
The President of the United States altered a National Hurricane Center map with a sharpie to falsely extend the official forecast toward Alabama so he didn’t have to admit he was wrong in a tweet. https://t.co/i0CJcYV4yq pic.twitter.com/pR57IL6WfT
— Dennis Mersereau (@wxdam) September 4, 2019
CNN has dedicated large portions of their Hurricane Dorian coverage to pointing out Trump’s inclusion of Alabama in his tweets warning Americans to be prepared and cautious. #Sharpiegate was trending on Twitter late on Wednesday into Thursday.
