Thread by @MrJonCryer

Here’s my theory on Trump (and I’ll be thrilled to be proven wrong):
Putin may be the richest man on earth. He surrounds himself with ultra-billionaire oligarch subordinates who reinforce and profit from his nationalist klepto-state as he rules

Trump wants to join this club
/1

This group’s hope is to turn other western states into nationalist klepto-states in order to increase their profits and neuter any threat to their criminal enterprise, be it international law, law enforcement or military conflict. (Except the conflicts they can profit from. )

As the Italian mob was supplanted in NYC by Russian Mafiya in the 90’s, Trump’s history of dealing with oligarchs as a landlord and occasional money launderer got him in initial contact with them.
/3

Trump is a narcissistic con man who understands he’ll always be a piker in this club of actual mega-wealth, so his plan was to run for President to heighten his profile and position himself to own a Fox News-style media empire when he lost the election. (Remember “Trump TV”?)
/4

He pursued the Moscow Trump Tower as a means to give himself entry into this world and kept up his efforts all through the election because he figured once he lost, no one would care.
/5

Trump also aided Russia’s attack on our election by denying its existence and made the Ukraine concessions to the GOP platform in an effort to curry favor with Putin for an eventual deal. And his anti Hillary efforts would help his bonafides for his network even if he lost.
/6

While his ego made him want to win the election, he didn’t expect to. He figured he could ride the right wing rage at a Hillary victory to a lucrative place as a right wing demagogue and media tycoon.
/7

Trump assembled a campaign of hucksters and criminals because a) they were just in his circle of friends, and b) because they’d work for free hoping for a corrupt and massive payoff down the line (hello Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort)
/8

This is why he made so many huge empty promises during the campaign, he never thought he’d actually have to follow through and keep them.
/9

It’s why he had no actual plan to replace Obamacare. It’s why his administration was a disaster from day one.
/10

And since he still wants to be in the oligarch club, it’s why he sucks up to Putin. Why he antagonizes NATO and our traditional allies. Why he sucks up to Kim Jong Un. Why he puts corrupt oligarch-wannabes in cabinet positions to sell off and sell out Americans.
/11

I don’t hate Trump. He shows all the symptoms of having a severe mental disorder. He cannot help his desperate, frantic need for validation. In his heart, he knows he’s a blowhard grifter born into enormous wealth.

Even he knows he’s unfit for the presidency.
/12

And sadly, because patriotism and unfettered capitalism are hallmarks of the modern GOP, Trump has been able to warp the party into one that supports turning America into another nationalist klepto-state.

Unless the GOP wises up and decides to stop him.
13/

Of course, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest the GOP is irretrievably corrupt and there’s no chance they’ll abandon Trump. In which case, the next two years will just be more of their frenzied attempts to cover for him as what’s left of his agenda collapses.