Almost the entire American Intelligence community are in agreement with the assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election in part to help Donald Trump win the White House. President Obama issued a public warning to Moscow that it could face retaliation.
The question is what the real motivation of the Russian Intelligence Community was to support Trump against Hillary Clinton.
The real motivation of the Russians to intervene the elections in favor of Mr. Trump is deeply rooted with the leadership style of the president elect.
Remember that Mr.Trump had asked his supporters to believe that he hasn't been elected as only a president of a country, but he is also convinced that he is the leader of a 'social movement' which has very powerful anti-globalist connotations.
It stands to reason that leaders who are authoritarian in nature, by definition, can't be democratic at all. Since the authoritarian leaders can't be democratic, it is safe to analyze that even they are elected in highly institutionalized constitutional democracies such as the U.S, they would want to seek to challenge the democratic institutions to consolidate power. Their very authoritarian nature and ability to impose their decisions without seeking consensus or approval are the biggest obstacles for them to be fully committed to democratic values. Historical experiences in the past shed light on the fact that once the authoritarian leaders reach to power they always concentrate to consolidate significantly more power into the executive office, weaken any potentially correcting checks and balances, and, in general, suppress and control all opposing voices. Here are some well-known features of the authoritarian leaders: 1) They invoke a legitimizing myth, 2) They reinforce a crisis perception, 3) They use a revolutionary rhetoric, 4) They simplify, 5) They promote a collective identity, and 6) suggest polarized aggression.
In his NY Times article titled 'Beyond Lying: Donald Trump's Authoritarian Reality' Jason Stanley notes that authoritarian propagandists always attempt to convey power by defining reality. 'The reality they offer is very simple. It is offered with the goal of switching voters' value systems to the authoritarian value system of the leader.'
Since the authoritarian leaders seek to polarize their societies by means of demonizing the 'others,' they create polarization in the society which eventually result in huge gaps and divides in the nation.
Now it is so safe to predict that the U.S can't promote democracy in the world while being governed by an authoritarian leader which simply reveals the Russian motivation to support Trump.
In the realm of foreign economic policy, a vital domain of grand strategy for a global power such as the United States is to liberalize international trade by pushing bilateral free-trade agreements on the one hand, and working with other states to set up a global trade organization on the other. Democracy promotion was part of this grand economic strategy as well.
If the U.S has been great, it was that vision and grand strategy which made him great. This means that escaping from that grand strategy can only make the U.S lose power and leadership. How can you expect Russia would want America be greater through a leader it supported while it seeks every means to challenge it in every possible realm?