Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump spent a week insisting that his inaccurate claim that Alabama could be in for major effects from Hurricane Dorian was not, in fact, wrong. (It was.)

Which is bad enough. But that isn't the worst part of the story. The worst part is this -- via The New York Times on Monday afternoon

"The Secretary of Commerce threatened to fire top employees at NOAA on Friday after the agency's Birmingham office contradicted President Trump's claim that Hurricane Dorian might hit Alabama, according to three people familiar with the discussion."

That revelation comes after the NOAA released an unsigned statement backing Trump on Friday , a move that drew widespread derision within its rank and file.

If you're surprised about any of this, you shouldn't be. Trump's lies and misstatements aren't just damaging in that they erode the idea that Truth and Fact exists outside of political spin. They are damaging because they create a culture within his administration in which telling the truth is less important than making the boss happy.

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