A pastor has said Donald Trump caused him to suffer “intense vitriol and hatred” when the US president mistook him on Twitter for a reporter.

The incident occurred last week amid an international furore over repeated false claims by Mr Trump that a hurricane would “most likely” hit Alabama.

After a host of media outlets pointed out Mr Trump’s error, the president doubled down, climaxing in the White House appearing to falsify a national weather service map using a Sharpie to make it appear Hurricane Dorian had been forecast to strike the southern state.

In one of Mr Trump’s 11 tweets about Alabama, the 73-year-old lashed out at a “phony (sic) hurricane report by lightweight reporter @jonathancarl of @ABCWorldNews”.

“I suggested yesterday at FEMA that, along with Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, even Alabama could possibly come into play, which WAS true,” he continued.

"Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Show all 15 1 /15 "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A road is flooded during the passing of Hurricane Dorian in Freeport, Grand Bahama. AP "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Hurricane Dorian's eye taken by Nasa astronaut Nick Hague, from aboard the International Space Station. The station orbits more than 200 miles above the Earth. Hurricane Dorian, which made landfall on the Bahamas as category 5 and now reclassified as category 4, is expected to continue on its projected path towards the Florida coast. Nasa/EPA "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Buildings damaged by Hurricane Dorian are swept by deep floodwater in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas. Latrae Rahming "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Tropical Storm Dorian as it approached the Bahamas. NOAA/AFP/Getty "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Strong winds blow the tops of trees while whisking up water from the surface of a canal that leads to the sea in Freeport, Grand Bahama AP "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A woman walks in a flooded street after the effects of Hurricane Dorian arrived in Nassau, Bahamas. REUTERS "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Uprooted trees, fallen power lines and debris scatter a road as Hurricane Dorian sweeps through Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas Ramond A King via Reuters "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Buildings damaged by Hurricane Dorian are swept by deep floodwater in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas Latrae Rahming "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A building is strewn with debris after its roof was torn off by Hurricane Dorian in the Abaco Islands in The Bahamas Latrae Rahming "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Uprooted trees, fallen power lines and debris scatter a road as Hurricane Dorian sweeps through Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas Ramond A King via Reuters "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Hurricane Dorian is pictured from a plane flying inside the eye of the storm Garrett Black/US Air Force "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Inmates from a Florida jail fill sandbags to hand out to residents ahead of Hurricane Dorian in Cocoa, Florida on September 1 EPA "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Residents stock up at Wal-Mart in preparation for Hurricane Dorian in Orlando, Florida Getty "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures A shop is boarded-up ahead of Hurricane Dorian in Cocoa, Florida on September 1 Reuters "Huge damage" as record Hurricane Dorian hits Bahamas: In pictures Waves batter a pier in Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas on September 1e Mark Hall vie Reuters

Mr Trump, however, had accidentally included the Twitter handle of a Baptist pastor in Kentucky, Reverend Jonathan Carl.

He later deleted the tweet and included the handle of the intended recipient, ABC News TV reporter Jonathan Karl. But the damage was done, and Mr Carl revealed in an open letter the fallout from the president’s mistake.

“Your drive-by tweet quickly brought a spectrum of intense vitriol and hatred my way. Although I was an accidental casualty caught in the cross-fire of your ‘lightweight’ tweet, your attack was very purposeful and hurtful,” Mr Carl wrote, in reference to Trump supporters who attacked him online.

“Many others, whether American citizens or global citizens, feel wounded and hurt by the shrapnel and side-effects of your ongoing Twitter attacks.”

He continued: “I’m not mad at you, I’m sad for you. My first reaction was to laugh out loud at your mistake when I saw your tweet. My second response was sadness and compassion for you.

“Our words overflow from our hearts and can quickly evidence the health or sickness of our souls. Your heart must be in a dangerous place to have such a consistent flow of defamation and disrespect towards so many.”