Trump is a fascist true-believer and a fanboi of Putin, with ties to Russia going back decades. To imply that he needs to be coerced and isn’t betraying America completely of his own free will is to give him too much credit. Trump is doing exactly the evil shit he genuinely wants to do – no more, no less.

Besides, he’s a raging narcissist who is basically incapable of feeling shame. If coercion were involved, it would require something with consequences beyond embarrassment, like “CP tapes,” not just “PP tapes.”