There are two stories out this weekend that have more in common than first meets the eye:
Newly-Released NOAA Emails Show Anger and Confusion Around Trump’s ‘Doctored’ Hurricane Dorian Map
In both cases, the leaders of the country spread false information and/or suppressed information that could have been useful and even life-saving.
Trump first (because he wouldn’t have it any other way):
Back in September, when Hurricane Dorian was heading for Florida, Trump sent out a tweet warning people in several states to be prepared. By accident, he included Alabama in the list. It may have been an honest mistake, he may have relied on an outdated projection, or been simply careless. Issuing a correction, an oops, even blaming it on someone else, and the whole thing would have over.
But before Trump could do any of that (even if he was inclined to), NOAA Birmingham, alarmed over the number of calls it was getting about the hurricane hitting Alabama, put out a statement saying that Dorian wasn’t coming anywhere near the state and Alabamans should calm down. Even though NOAA didn’t know about Trump’s tweet at the time, Trump took their message as NOAA saying that he, the Very Stable Genius Who Knows More About Everything Than Everyone, was wrong. That could not be allowed to stand. The Very Stable Genius, in a fit of fury (his natural state), yelled and screamed and threatened until NOAA brass issued a statement scolding the Birmingham office for accidentally telling the truth. The emails that have just now been released thanks to FOIA show just how upset everyone at NOAA was about having to deal with the ego of The Very Stable Genius.
Now, on to China. Here’s a key paragraph from the New York Times front page story: