I think you give Trump far too much credit, and attribute "strategy" to him of which he has no cognizance. He doesn't think; he just shoots from the lip. He has deeply held, and usually erroneous, beliefs upon which he instinctively acts without reason. He thinks only of himself. And he's still talking about Hillary! Come on, man. How many mulligans are you going to give him? And how is it that some Republicans are supposedly more concerned about the DNC allegedly screwing their own than they are about a malevolent foreign power trying to subvert the nation's democracy?
The western world is in serious peril, several in Fox and now even Paul Ryan.. "[Putin] just said it's not Russia," Trump said. "I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be." Response: "House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said, "There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world. That is not just the finding of the American intelligence community but also the House Committee on Intelligence." "The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy," Ryan said." Where is Mitch? "Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Republican, said Trump’s comments next to Putin made the United States look like a “pushover.” At the Helsinki summit, Putin gave Trump a soccer ball from the World Cup hosted by Russia during the past month and as an acknowledgment the United States will co-host the 2026 tournament. Senator Graham afterward tweeted, “Finally, if it were me, I’d check the soccer ball for listening devices and never allow it in the White House.”"
Childish distraction, oh nuclear war! oh my! M.A.D. rules apply as they have until now. Trump committed treason today.
So I disagree with your theory but let’s explore it. Do you think it is a good idea for an American president to leverage Russia against the EU?
Completely agree. I highly doubt Trump has the intelligence to formulate a more than two step strategy. The Clinton stuff is red meat for his base. They believe democrats are a bigger threat to America than Putin. That’s why they ignore the obvious nexus between Trump’s actions and Russia.
Democrats? No. The media? Yes. They are unaccountable and wield enormous influence with the naïve and less informed. Even most dictatorships have some token opposition media. Here we have basically none. Fox News? They ran the NeverTrump movement until he was inevitable, then they tried to hop on.