Trump should also publicly and specifically order the intelligence community, the State Department, and the Justice Department to take all necessary steps to curb Russia’s efforts to influence U.S. elections in 2018.

We know he has refrained from doing so because he resents the claims that Russia handed him the election and always resists doing what opponents expect of him. But the longer he waits to make some public gesture on this issue, the more it will harm his party as well as the already shaken faith of many Americans in the integrity of the system. A continued refusal will only buttress the narrative that he is soft on Russia and doesn’t respect democratic principles.

Far from bowing to his foes, a concerted public effort to nip Russia’s largely ineffectual trolling in the bud will be the best way to bolster Trump’s legitimacy and to undermine his foes’ attempt to paint him as Vladimir Putin’s satellite.