Sandy Shanks
Gold Member
- Jul 10, 2018
- 3,550
- 1,025
- 210
- Banned
- #1
Trump, in a tweet, and later in a FEMA meeting on Sept. 1, claimed Alabama was going to be impacted by Dorian. Theoretically, at the FEMA meeting, he was getting the latest update on Dorian's path. Indeed, according to the White House, even while he was golfing as the Bahamas were being pummeled, the President was receiving hourly updates on Dorian's path.
This begs a question. Was he paying attention?
A more important question is this. Does he ever listen to briefings? Or, does he already have an opinion about vital issues and he doesn't want to be bothered by facts?
The following events illustrate what I mean. On Sept. 1, Trump tweeted, "in addition to Florida - South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated. Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever. Already category 5. BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!"
To avoid Alabamian panic the National Weather Service tweeted “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.”
Imagine that, the NWS had to correct the President. There is a danger when the President issues a false weather forecast. Actually, when it comes to the weather, Trump should keep his mouth shut.
On Sept. 1, everyone in the country except Trump knew that Dorian would not only miss Alabama, but would miss Florida as well. We all saw similar maps to this one.
It was not a state secret, but Trump didn't know Dorian's path on Sept 1, the day he said Alabama would be affected.
Ordinarily, this would all be a good joke, and many would get a good laugh at Trump's expense. Ordinarily, a President snared by a huge gaffe, would go silent and wait until all the laughter fades away in a day or two. That is what a smart President would do.
But Trump is no ordinary President, and, therein lies the problem. Incredibly, Trump doubled down and insisted that he was right.
On Monday, Trump pushed back on skeptics by insisting that “under certain original scenarios, he was in fact correct that Alabama could have received some ‘hurt.’”
To prove his point, on Wednesday Trump showed off this map to television viewers.
This only made matters and serious questions were being asked about his mental health. There are two serious flaws with this map.
A black sharpie half circle was placed on the NWS map to include Alabama. The attempt was crude and infantile.
While everyone but Trump is looking at updated maps on Sept. 1, the NWS map the President is holding is dated August 28, a day representing the earliest stages of the hurricane.
Trump is still at it on Thursday morning. "In the early days of the hurricane, when it was predicted that Dorian would go through Miami or West Palm Beach, even before it reached the Bahamas, certain models strongly suggested that Alabama & Georgia would be hit as it made its way through Florida & to the Gulf," he tweeted.
True, perhaps, but completely irrelevant. So, now the question not only involves his mental stability, but also his intellectual capabilities. When dealing with a hurricane, intelligent people are interested in the very latest information.
When Trump warned Alabamians, he was using information that was five days old.
Hence the concerns we have for our President. What he said, what he is still saying, makes absolutely no sense at all.
This begs a question. Was he paying attention?
A more important question is this. Does he ever listen to briefings? Or, does he already have an opinion about vital issues and he doesn't want to be bothered by facts?
The following events illustrate what I mean. On Sept. 1, Trump tweeted, "in addition to Florida - South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated. Looking like one of the largest hurricanes ever. Already category 5. BE CAREFUL! GOD BLESS EVERYONE!"
To avoid Alabamian panic the National Weather Service tweeted “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.”
Imagine that, the NWS had to correct the President. There is a danger when the President issues a false weather forecast. Actually, when it comes to the weather, Trump should keep his mouth shut.
On Sept. 1, everyone in the country except Trump knew that Dorian would not only miss Alabama, but would miss Florida as well. We all saw similar maps to this one.
It was not a state secret, but Trump didn't know Dorian's path on Sept 1, the day he said Alabama would be affected.
Ordinarily, this would all be a good joke, and many would get a good laugh at Trump's expense. Ordinarily, a President snared by a huge gaffe, would go silent and wait until all the laughter fades away in a day or two. That is what a smart President would do.
But Trump is no ordinary President, and, therein lies the problem. Incredibly, Trump doubled down and insisted that he was right.
On Monday, Trump pushed back on skeptics by insisting that “under certain original scenarios, he was in fact correct that Alabama could have received some ‘hurt.’”
To prove his point, on Wednesday Trump showed off this map to television viewers.
This only made matters and serious questions were being asked about his mental health. There are two serious flaws with this map.
A black sharpie half circle was placed on the NWS map to include Alabama. The attempt was crude and infantile.
While everyone but Trump is looking at updated maps on Sept. 1, the NWS map the President is holding is dated August 28, a day representing the earliest stages of the hurricane.
Trump is still at it on Thursday morning. "In the early days of the hurricane, when it was predicted that Dorian would go through Miami or West Palm Beach, even before it reached the Bahamas, certain models strongly suggested that Alabama & Georgia would be hit as it made its way through Florida & to the Gulf," he tweeted.
True, perhaps, but completely irrelevant. So, now the question not only involves his mental stability, but also his intellectual capabilities. When dealing with a hurricane, intelligent people are interested in the very latest information.
When Trump warned Alabamians, he was using information that was five days old.
Hence the concerns we have for our President. What he said, what he is still saying, makes absolutely no sense at all.
