Relevant, credit goes to u/Deggit:

Mar-a-Lago-ization

of the federal government - the construction of an informal process alongside the official process and deliberately signalling that all real power rests in the informal process. Once you understand this is happening, examples abound. For example there's a Reddit headline right now about Trump simultaneously declaring Native American Month and tweeting a racist Indian slur at a Senator. Official, unofficial - get it? This was also on full display when Trump gave "official" and "unofficial" responses to the Charlottesville attack. The media was confused by Trump's mixed messaging but Trump's base understood that Teleprompter Trump is a Nothing. Totally meaningless. Meanwhile, "Real Trump" made very clear how he felt.

So we have the cultivation of an informal process of government in a hollow, closed-circle administration with low staffing. Now look at all of this through the eyes of a foreign intelligence agent. What levers do you see in this situation? Money, Ideology, Coercion, or Ego?

That's right - Ego is the big one. There is a huge Ego incentive for low level policy aides like Papa Dop. You can see the appeal for a 30 year old guy of being potentially "Trump's point man" on an entire country, to say nothing of that country being Russia, and it seems likely that his "The Professor" contact wormtongued exactly that into his ear: "Think of all the rungs you could skip!" The fact that Trump visibly rewards loyalty (Sessions is AG solely because he was first GOP to endorse) regardless of qualifications (look at Hope Hicks) doubles the enticement.