Trump displays seemingly edited map of Dorian’s projected path

President Trump is claiming ignorance after he held up a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map that appeared to have been altered with a black pen to show a projection of Hurricane Dorian possibly striking Alabama.  

The unexplained map appeared during an Oval Office briefing on the hurricane comes after Mr. Trump tweeted Sunday that Alabamians were in danger from Dorian. His tweet, now deleted, said, “In addition to Florida – South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated.” The National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama, debunked this assertion in its own tweet 20 minutes later without mentioning the president. 

President Donald Trump talks with reporters after receiving a briefing on Hurricane Dorian in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019, in Washington. Evan Vucci / AP

When the president was asked about the map during an announcement on the opioid crisis later Wednesday, he reiterated his suggestion that the dangerous storm could have easily struck Alabama and that it had been projected to cause damage in Alabama earlier. 

“I know that Alabama was in the original forecast. They thought it would get it,” the president said. 

When a reporter pointed out the line looked like it was added with a Sharpie pen, the president responded, “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.” 

CBS News has requested a comment from the White House and from NOAA. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.