Trump, especially at the point of mental degradation he is at, is incapable of disguising his intentions or misdirecting you. His staff are also unable to reign him in to create useful diplomatic uncertainty about what he will throw his weight behind (TACO).

The only reason this is confusing is Trump believes or believed Putin should win but saying it outloud is basic political suicide in the US and Trump sticks to no beliefs so he has been whipping back and forth like a weathervane in a storm as the calculus undeniably cements in Ukraine’s favor especially with regard to committed European support.

Nobody can precisely calculate the optimum “chicken out and support Ukraine once the writing is on the wall” point with something so complex so Trump keeps trying to guess the watershed moment but doesn’t even have the resolve to stick to his acts of cowardly selfishness. He keeps timidly guessing like an attrociously bad actor who doesn’t know the right moment to come on stage and so keeps awkwardly approaching the stage in view of the audience and then hesitating nervously.