President Donald Trump’s Twitter attack on a former president over the weekend demonstrated mind-boggling recklessness. Less than 50 days into his administration, a large portion of the nation wishes to avert their eyes from his histrionics, but it isn’t possible to ignore a president as they might a petty bureaucrat — no matter how petty the actions of a president might be.

To recount: On Saturday morning, just days after Trump was basking in the glow of validation for an address to Congress that, for whatever its merits and flaws, was well within the norms of presidential comportment, Trump delivered a series of tweets that alleged that former President Obama had ordered Trump’s “wires tapped’’ before the election. He typed, “This is McCarthyism! … A NEW LOW.” The tweet storm concluded: “This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” That finale trampled the previously referenced presidential norms, and makes one wonder how much more the dignity of the office of the president can take.

Since the president’s sources for the allegations are said to include a talk-radio host and Breitbart News, an extreme right-wing site that’s accused of enabling white supremacists, skepticism abounds. Trump’s spokespersons called for a congressional investigation, without offering evidence. Remarkably, the director of the FBI, James Comey, was among those rejecting the claims. Still, Trump is said to persist in believing his wires were tapped.

It is true that some spectacular accusations are initially dismissed and later found to be true. Even so, it needs to be pointed out that a president has far better means of pursuing such allegations than social media. He is not a teenager wronged by mean girls, after all.

If the president truly believes reports from alternative media sources, it is alarming. If he does not, his behavior suggests a crude campaign to distract the American people from the real workings of his administration, such as deep cuts to the EPA, divisive action on immigration, an unwarranted military buildup, and on and on. His tweets also diverted attention from news that was dominating the discussion before the outburst: the many reported contacts of people involved with his campaign with Russians.

What shouldn’t be lost amid the noise is that Americans deserve a full and independent investigation into any Trump-Russia connection.

Nothing should distract the American people and their leaders from that.