A normal president would be doing his best to keep the ship of state afloat and moving in a reasonable and predictable direction during the transition period. Trump is anything but normal, and he is trying to do as much harm as possible before he leaves.
Yesterday was a perfect example. First, he issued more pardons to figures from the Russia investigation and to members of the armed forces who committed atrocities in Iraq. Then, he threatened to veto the stimulus bill on the basis that the payments to individuals were way too small, when in fact, they shouldn’t be in the bill at all. The threat was clearly motivated by his desire to remain relevant in his waning days, and was a transparent bribe to the American people in his quixotic battle to stay in office.
The good news here is that, having blown up everything else, Trump is now training his guns on mainstream GOP politicians and showing us what his presidency could have been like if he had not chosen Republican fiscal orthodoxy over opportunistic populism after he took office. That could create some openings for Biden and the Democrats. Even nihilism sometimes has its uses.