I'm not saying that none of that is going on, in regards to Putin exerting influence on Trump and in turn our government, but I genuinely think that the higher ups in the administration don't understand how effective soft power is. They don't see that if you pull a thread here (by not appointing an ambassador) that something unravels over there (like China growing closer to North Korea). Their view of America as the all powerful, richest nation, etc makes it impossible to see that we need all of our allies, no matter how small the country, to effectively be the world's super power. By trying to play "hardball" with these countries like China and Russia and not engaging them or other countries with problems related to them through diplomacy we are allowing their influence to grow unchecked which will only cause problems down the line. But hey, they need to make their money now so they can buy that new sailboat to dock at their oceanfront house that will be underwater in the next decade.