In recent years, American presidents have routinely been evaluated on their administrations’ responses to hurricanes. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, George W. Bush created a low standard, and there’s a broad expectation that his successors need to take care to avoid following his example.
But before a storm reaches soil, there’s not a whole lot for a president to do. Donald Trump nevertheless skipped a scheduled event in Poland commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Nazi invasion, citing the threat posed by Hurricane Dorian, and sending Vice President Mike Pence in his stead. The VP told his hosts in Warsaw over the weekend, “The president is where he needs to be.”
Where Trump evidently needed to be was on a golf course, where he reportedly received updates on the storm.
But that’s not all the president did. Over the weekend, Trump’s preparation for Dorian featured a few key curiosities. First, the president published a tweet including Alabama among the states “most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated.” Twenty minutes later, the National Weather Service, while not referencing Trump specifically, published a tweet of its own, telling the public, “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.”
When news outlets noted the president’s error, Trump took great offense, insisting he was right, reality notwithstanding.
Second, as the deadly storm drew closer and began to wreak havoc on the Bahamas, the president had a Festivus-like airing of grievances, complaining about Debra Messing, AFL–CIO President Richard Trumka, four progressive congresswomen of color, and news organizations.
And then, of course, there was his unexplained unfamiliarity with Category 5 hurricanes.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he’s “not sure that (he’s) ever even heard of a Category 5” hurricane, despite four such storms — including Hurricane Dorian — having threatened the US since he took office.









