Even if Trump is a Russian asset, which may well be true, but at this point is speculation—do you think he’d make for a good asset? The guy is not that clever generally but he always looks out for himself.

I think Trump essentially wants to be admired by the world at large just as much as by his “peers” Putin/Erdogan/Xi/Kim. Just to illustrate that there are most likely multiple motivations involved here, and possibly being a Russian asset can’t explain all of Trump’s behavior.