@401matthall @SueDiOh Its a little of both. We (U.S. Intelligence Community) actually WATCHED him be bought--by the Kremlin via the Russian mob via Deutsche Bank--when his business incompetence had left him bankrupt with no honest lender willing to touch him, and he was terrified of actually being POOR. Because our due-course MISSION involved monitoring the Russians he was talking to, and he was too stupid to think that would necessarily expose HIM on the other end of the negotiations.
But youre absolutely right that his only real interest is in whatever his addled mind thinks will benefit him (malignant narcissist, remember), and as a native New Yorker, I've watched him screw friends, contractors, patrons, supporters, etc. FOR HALF A CENTURY, so I have no doubt that if he's reached the point where he thinks his new taxpayer-funded #craptocurrency scams will keep him rich for his remaining years, and his cult is beyond caring about ANY dirt they might release, he may get tired of having to be #VladTheInvader's beta all the time.
He might want to get checked for #PoloniumAllergies, though. Vlad doesnt have a lot of tolerance for oligarchs who start thinking they're independent....