In this week’s continuing saga of President Donald Trump’s apparently Sharpie-altered Alabama Hurricane Dorian map, he and one of his opponents are both trying to capitalize on his claim, and the opportunity it’s presented amid heavy social media activity and news coverage.
Trump’s campaign is now selling black markers after he presented a map in the Oval Office on Wednesday of Dorian’s forecast, which looked like it had been drawn on to include that Alabama could be hit by the storm.
The Washington Post reported that Trump himself had used a black Sharpie to mark up the map.
It's all sparked a frenzy including: the president doubling down several times that Alabama was possibly in Dorian’s path, forecasters in the state quickly disputing him, a #SharpieGate Twitter trend, a federal agency backing him up and now a Republican presidential challenger is selling markers too.
Former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh is sending campaign donors who give at least $25 Sharpies that say “don’t lie.” His campaign website says, “Sometimes the president needs to be reminded... so we used his favorite writing tool: a Sharpie!”
Trump’s reelection campaign is selling markers in sets of five with his golden signature for $15. His campaign manager, Brad Parscale, tweeted Friday that hundreds of sets of the markers have been sold.
Parscale says the markers are special because they drive news outlets crazy.
Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the continental U.S. in North Carolina on Friday and is projected to head up the East Coast.