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Trump: 'I'm not sure that I've ever heard of a Category 5' hurricane. There have been 4 during his presidency | TribLIVE.com
Politics Election

Trump: 'I'm not sure that I've ever heard of a Category 5' hurricane. There have been 4 during his presidency

Bret Gibson
Bret Gibson
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AP
President Trump speaks at the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, in Washington.

During a Federal Emergency Management Agency briefing Sunday about Hurricane Dorian, President Trump expressed disbelief that a Category 5 storm was possible.

“I’ve seen some Category 4s, you don’t even see that many of them. But a Category 5 is something that, I don’t know if I’ve ever even heard the term, other than I know it’s there,” Trump said. “That’s the ultimate, and that’s what we have unfortunately.”

Problem is, now with Dorian, there have been four such storms during his presidency.

In September 2017, Hurricane Irma affected nine states. Later that month, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and drenched the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In October 2018, Hurricane Michael swelled to a Category 5 when it struck the Florida Panhandle, the first Category 5 storm to strike the country since 1992.

This is also not the first time Trump has said he’s never heard of a Category 5 storm.

On two different occasions in September 2017, the president said he “never even knew a Category 5 existed” and that no one had ever “seen anything like that.”

Meanwhile, Trump had to be corrected when he announced on Twitter that Alabama could be in Dorian’s path.

“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,” Trump posted.

Problem is, no model shows that Alabama could be hit. The National Weather Service branch in Birmingham had to send out a clarification.

“Alabama will NOT see any impacts from #Dorian,” wrote the NWS. “We repeat, no impacts from Hurricane #Dorian will be felt across Alabama.”

Bret Gibson is a TribLive digital producer. A South Hills resident, he started working for the Trib in 1998. He can be reached at bgibson@triblive.com.

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