For decades, Russia and Putin have been trying to diminish the US’s standing/influence in the world. One tool has been to get people to call into question democracy itself and the way to do this is to “sow discord,” as the phrase goes.
Trump has helped Putin by diminishing people’s faith in government. You see this in the way he often self-servingly refers to career civil servants as “Deep State,” a way to undercut their credibility, and he call the press - called the 4th Estate for its role in keeping government honest - the “enemy of the people.” He also has his own counter-information system (Fox, Twitter, FB) and as we see right here it often pumps out complete DISINFORMATION.
RATHER than just simply think of these concepts in general ways, you can actually see this play out SPECIFICALLY with Corinavirus:
1. Trump just attacked Powell at the Fed for not further cutting rates in response to CV
2. Dr Fausci has largely been marginalized and, in fact, he was held back initially
3 Trump has use Fox, FB and Twitter to push the completely BOGUS “Obama/swine flu” deflection.
4. Trump had a renowned infectious disease doctor (and civil servant), Dr Birx, spread the Google lie on TV
5. Trump had the normally apolitical Surgeon General claim Trump was healthier than him and then chastise media for questioning Trump
6. Until he was reigned in by reality he suggested CV was a “hoax” and a de facto “impeachment”
Fausci and Birx and Powell are no different than Marie Yavanovitch, all career civil servants doing their best to protect the US. All have had run ins with the Trump machine, all while Trump consistently lies to people who seem indifferent to his lies.
All this stuff leads people to completely distrust their MOSTLY CIVIL SERVANT run government. If you want a small BUT PIERCING example, just look at the reporting on whether Trump has CV and you’ll see numerous reports suggesting the doctor at the WH might be lying???? The WH doctor is a liar? Wtf? Only in the age of Trump would people so easily jump to that.
The US is a REPRESENTATIVE democracy. It relies on people TRUSTING their representatives and government, ESPECIALLY WHEH THERE IS A NATIONAL CRISIS.
You should trust the Fausci and Brix and Yavonavitchs but do you actually trust the political side? Either side? If Russia attacked the US now, are we more or less prepared to follow our leaders? Would Trump call the news of a Russian attack a “hoax?” (What if it was a hack instead of tanks?) Would that message spew out all over Twitter, FB and more only to be repeated here and elsewhere?
Seriously. You know it would. Almost every lunacy - no matter how obviously and objectively dumb - is posted her by CJ and OT. Most of it is ignored because, well you know. But, just a step below that is the seemingly plausible disinformation that comes from Trump and his surrogates. This runs the gamut from “Ukraine has the server” to “Team Trump says Trump enthusiasm at all time high.”
People don’t have time (for the most part) to investigate stuff themselves, so you SOW DISCORD by getting them to DISTRUST CREDIBLE SOURCES (msm, civil servants, law enforcement) and spread disinformation (Trump Twitter, FB)
Putin must see CV as a sign his efforts are working well. The US is weaker than any time I recall in recent history. Not because Trump is his intentional partner but because Trump is a useful idiot whose craven view of the world dovetails perfectly with Putin’s goals.