Along with the “photo op” in the White House, 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. He jerked the chain with 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.