There was a small kernel of truth behind Donald Trump’s latest online harangue. Last month, as a result of a burst pipe, there was a massive sewage overflow that spewed into the Potomac River. The president on Monday referred to this as a “disaster,” which was accurate: Communities in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have confronted serious concerns about contaminated water.

Unfortunately, that was the only thing about the story that Trump got right. His missive read, in part:

There is a massive Ecological Disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the Gross Mismanagement of Local Democrat Leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland. A sewer line breach in Maryland has caused millions of gallons of raw sewage to be dumped directly into the Potomac River, a result of incompetent Local and State Management of Essential Waste Management Systems.

It’s likely that the president saw a story about a crisis in the region, heard about a problem related specifically to Maryland and thought it would be a good idea to seize on the developments as an excuse to target a Democratic governor.

But as is too often the case, Trump tripped over his own ignorance. As NOTUS reported, “The thing is, it’s actually Trump’s own Environmental Protection Agency with the regulatory authority over the DC Water-owned pipe that burst and spilled millions of gallons of sewage into the Potomac River last month.”

Or, as The New Republic summarized: “President Trump is blaming Maryland Governor Wes Moore for … something Moore has no control over.”

What’s more, if the president is looking for someone to blame, he should probably look at his own administration. A spokesperson for Moore told The Hill, “The president has his facts wrong — again. Since the last century, the federal government has been responsible for the Potomac Interceptor, which is the origin of the sewage leak. For the last four weeks, the Trump administration has failed to act, shirking its responsibility and putting people’s health at risk.”

The governor’s spokesperson added, “Notably, the president’s own EPA explicitly refused to participate in the major legislative hearing about the cleanup last Friday. Apparently the Trump administration hadn’t gotten the memo that they’re actually supposed to be in charge here.”

Trump’s brazenly false offensive was quickly discredited, but it was tough not to notice that the Republican has been fixated on Moore quite a bit lately.

Last week, for example, the president said that he was welcoming governors of both parties to the White House as part the National Governors Association’s upcoming meeting, but that he would exclude two Democrats from an official dinner who Trump said were “not worthy of being there.” One of the two was Moore, whom Trump described as “foul mouthed” for reasons unknown.

Months earlier, Trump told reporters unprompted that he doesn’t believe the Maryland Democrat is “presidential timber,” and a few days later, he questioned the governor’s military service. (Moore is a decorated combat veteran who served in Afghanistan.)

Around the same time, the president told a bizarre story about meeting Moore at a football game. According to Trump, the governor told him: “Sir, you’re the greatest president in my lifetime.” When the evidence proved that no such interaction happened, Trump repeated the false anecdote anyway.

I tend not to invest a lot of time speculating about the 2028 presidential race — there are plenty of more pressing matters to focus on — but it sure does look as if Trump is scared of the Maryland governor’s political potential.