Donald Trump Won't Let the Dorian-Alabama Thing Go

(Bloomberg) -- Even as Hurricane Dorian’s core brushes the coast of North Carolina, President Donald Trump’s attention remains about 500 miles west in Alabama.

Trump’s quest to defend his assertion that Alabama was in the storm’s path stretched to a fourth day, posting late Thursday on Twitter several photos of Aug. 29 and Aug. 30 forecasts that showed Alabama within the probability zone of tropical storm-force winds.

Trump repeatedly claimed on Sept. 1 that Alabama was in Dorian’s path, though by then the storm’s track had turned north and east. He then defended his statements several times, including in a surreal Oval Office press briefing Wednesday, by saying Alabama had at one point been in the storm’s path. In that session he held up an Aug. 29 map that had been altered -- by the president himself -- with a black line that extended the storm’s path beyond Florida and into southern Alabama, according to people familiar with the matter.

The storm was responsible for at least 30 deaths in the Bahamas. The coastal Carolinas are forecast to get 6 to 12 inches of rain, with 15 inches in isolated areas, and a storm surge as high as 7 feet. Orange Beach, Alabama, meanwhile, is expected to see a high temperature of 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 Celsius) with 0% chance of rain on Friday, according to The Weather Channel.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Murtaugh in Singapore at dmurtaugh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net, Jodi Schneider, Alexander Kwiatkowski

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