Sharpiegate

English

President Trump receives an update on Hurricane Dorian on August 29, 2019. This map was later altered to show Dorian impacting Alabama.

Etymology

From Sharpie +‎ -gate, after the brand of pen.

Proper noun

Sharpiegate

  1. (American football, informal) A 2002 controversy where Terry Owens signed a football with a Sharpie hidden in his sock.
    • 2002 October 16, David Steele, “The pen is mightier than 49ers, as long as it's in the end zone”, in SFGate‎[1], archived from the original on 21 December 2025:
      THERE WILL be no Sharpiegate to distract the 49ers this week. Terrell Owens' latest hand grenade was not only defused, it turned out not to be explosive at all.
  2. (informal) A 2019 controversy around US president Donald Trump presenting a modified weather map indicating that Alabama would be hit by Hurricane Dorian, in opposition to official forecasts.
    • 2019 September 10, Ed Pilkington, “Wilbur Ross faces calls to resign after report he threatened firings over 'Sharpiegate'”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 October 2026:
      The US secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross, is facing calls for his resignation after it was reported that he had threatened to fire senior staff at a federal agency unless they sided publicly with Donald Trump in the rumbling dispute dubbed “Sharpiegate”.
    • 2020 February 1, Madeleine Carlisle, “Newly-Released NOAA Emails Show Anger and Confusion Around Trump’s ‘Doctored’ Hurricane Dorian Map”, in Time‎[3], New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 5 April 2020:
      The President then doubled down on his claim that Alabama was at risk. On Sept. 4, he gave an update on the storm while sitting in front of a map that appeared to have been altered with a black marker to make it seem like Alabama might be hit. Public backlash ensued, and the moment was swiftly deemed #sharpiegate on social media.
    • 2020 February 3, Rachel Frazin, “Emails show weather service employees were frustrated by Trump, 'Sharpiegate'”, in The Hill‎[4], archived from the original on 1 December 2022:
      Emails obtained by The Hill and other news outlets through a Freedom of Information Act request show some scientists were flabbergasted at the president's actions in the so-called Sharpiegate controversy, and that they worried about other steps that might be taken.
    • 2020 February 28, Alex Henderson, “Fox News host Laura Ingraham loses it when guest mentions "Sharpiegate" during coronavirus segment”, in Salon‎[5], archived from the original on 11 September 2025:
      Ingraham could have admitted that Trump made himself look ridiculous during the "Sharpiegate" fiasco. Instead, she was angry that Goodstein even brought it up.
    • 2020 September 22, Scott Waldman, “Climate science critic to be chief scientist at key U.S. climate research agency”, in Science‎[6], archived from the original on 21 April 2021:
      But Maue has dinged Trump administration officials as well—notably those who were involved in a mini-scandal known as "Sharpiegate."
  3. (informal) A conspiracy theory claiming that ballots marked with Sharpie pens were unfairly disqualified in the 2020 US presidential election.
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