Donald Trump is still dogged by allegations that his campaign colluded with the Russians to win the presidential election.
Do what he may, Trump cannot escape from the tendrils of conspiracy that threaten to engulf him.
The fact is, whatever good Trump manages to achieve from the Oval Office during his tenure, people will only remember him for the bad.
And the biggest bad in the minds of Americans is cozying up to the Russians.
As Trump aides fall victim to what the president calls ‘this Russian thing’ and his son appears mixed up in tapping Moscow for adverse information to embarrass rival candidate Hillary Clinton, it seems everyone in the Trump camp was linked somehow with the Russians.
But can the world believe Trump simply did not know what his aides and family were up to?
Living in a bubble
Trump is a billionaire business man who no doubt rose to riches because he manages and communicates with other entrepreneurs and his staff.
He seriously wants us to believe he is not the man everyone thought he was.
Instead he lived in a campaign bubble which did not allow any hint of wrongdoing through to his inner sanctum.
In an interview, Trump denies he is the president Russian premiere Vladimir Putin wanted.
“We are the most powerful country in the world and we are getting more and more powerful because I’m a big military person. As an example, if Hillary had won, our military would be decimated,” Trump said.
“That’s why I say why would he want me? Because from day one I wanted a strong military and he doesn’t want to see that.
Plausible deniability
“There are many things that I do that are the exact opposite of what Putin would want.”
Of course, this is conjecture and political spin.
Putin has not spoken about who he would have preferred to warm the White House office seat.
He has also denied any involvement in influencing the US election. But he would, wouldn’t he?
Likewise, Trump is hardly likely to undermine his own position by admitting collusion with Moscow.
At the moment, he has plausible deniability because his aides will fall on their swords for him, but this could change if more allegations come to light.