agreed. that's my read on Trump. in order to be allowed to have any real power, you have to be part of the club.
in order to be in the club, you need to give them blackmail material - the worse the material is, the higher you are allowed to ascend.
Trump was allowed to exist because, I believe, he played as a clown show. Not to be taken too seriously, never to be allowed into politics.
Occasionally, he would need to make stupid statements (about ivanka) and take pictures with the right people (epstein).
"if you aren't going to give us anything real, at least you are going to give us stuff that can tie you to us" in the public's mind
even the "grab them by the pussy" comment was likely looked upon by all involved as a good thing, because it could be used against him (which it was)
but that is where they fucked up… they thought POTUS gives a fuck.
they didn't realize he's a honeybadger.
now, they're fooked