What course of action would Putin see as messing up with the United States as much as is possible?
Putin really hates Hillary, because she "interfered" in Putin's "re" election as President of Russia in 2012. He would do anything to defeat her, and it's quite amazing he didn't order the FSB to kill her, honestly.
Putin's agenda is to cause chaos in the US. That is what he would hinge things on.
The more chaos there is in the US, the more he can go and point to America as a system that he thinks Russians shouldn't emulate. And the more unpalatable America's political system is to the Russia, the more Russians will stick with him.
