Putin isolates US allies; only friend will be Russia who happens to be Trump's BFF.
Trump has also made sure that our connections with other nations are no longer in place: the State Department, now decimated, was the face of US in the world.
Putin is keeping Trump on a short leash. Trump has three jobs to do for Putin: raise sanctions, destroy NATO, and give him free rein in Eastern Europe. Trump has not been able to deliver and his presidency is in danger. So, Putin jerked the chain by making Trump have the White House meeting with the Russians just when the investigation into Trump’s Russian ties is heating up.
Trump has damaged our government so quickly that we’ve hardly noticed. It’s not a case incompetance or stupidity, but a coordinated plan with Putin. He has tried to delegitimatize the media and the justice system. He has highjacked Republican party and stymied any attempt to pass their agenda (and they’re just beginning to notice). He runs the country by his executive orders. He has made sure that his is the only person who can get anything done. The IC is our best hope for stopping him.
A tyrant's first job is to destroy all other centers of power: media, judiciary, Congress, intelligence community and Executive branch. Excutive branch is completely in chaos. Media and judiciary still are fighting back. Congressional Republicans haven't even realized that they are dependant on Trump to do anything. And Trump doesn't care what the agenda is, he'll make sure that nothing will pass without his okay. He may just tell them to wait, like ethics committee bill. He may half-heartedly support a bill, like first AHCA. He may wait until they start a push on another bill, like reviving AHCA when Republicans try to work on taxes. IC is starting to fight back.
