I feel like you missed the suggestions that the move (the shiiling and scamming) may have surved or been subborinate to an ulterior motive.

By taking relatively low risk public position (from the guy making wildly innapropriate comments and taking wildly irresponsible actions seemingly daily) they are able to effectively spread FUD with regard to crypto. And that could have been motivated by a perceived threat by crypto against USD and/or fiat in general.

Like...this dude took food from genuinely starving people because there was some abuse in the system and had no plans whatever to restore the food to the starving.

Scamming people that are typically seen (by his constituency) as elitist tech-mongers and coin-bros? How's that supposed to negatively impact his ratings anyay? At worst it confirms pre-existing favor both for and against him.

People who hate him for the coin shilling already hated him and were not likely to ever be convinced in his favor, people who fanaticize him will see it as stated above and will also not change their opinions in anything but degree.

I feel like you're giving way too much credit here.