New Yorker editor David Remnick on Sunday said President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE is "playing right into" Russian President Vladimir Putin's hands, as the two leaders plan to meet for a closely watched summit in Finland.

"He is playing right into the hands of Vladimir Putin," Remnick said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"He is dividing his own country, he is dismissing threats to his own country when it comes to Russia, he is completely misreading what’s going on in the globe, all to create greater and greater support among his base," Remnick said, noting Trump is interested in "domestic politics" above all.

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"He is creating a hero of Vladimir Putin among cultural conservatives," Remnick added.

Trump is slated to meet with the Russian leader on Monday in Helsinki.

The meeting will come days after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted twelve Russian intelligence officials for hacking the Democratic National Committee and conspiring to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has deflected news of the indictment by blaming the hacking on former President Obama.

CNN host Jake Tapper asked Remnick why Trump seems to be more willing to criticize journalists, including Tapper himself, than Putin.

"He must see you, Jake, as a much greater threat to global stability than Vladimir Putin," Remnick said.

"If you look at the last week, you saw the United States president berating and humiliating the chancellor of Germany, doing the same to the prime minister of England and completely ignoring indictments against 12 operators of … Russian military intelligence," Remnick said earlier in the interview.

Trump has made several controversial remarks about historic U.S. allies during his European travels this week, calling Germany "captive" to Russia, criticizing British Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of "Brexit," and calling the European Union a "foe."

He has not extended the same criticism to Putin or Russia.

Trump slammed the member nations of NATO last week, a move that many claim benefits Russia, a historic adversary of NATO.

"It’s very important to think, what does Vladimir Putin want here?" Remnick said. "He wants to reassert Russian strength on the global stage, he wants to throw the United States off-balance, and he wants to divide the United States with its allies."

"Mission almost accomplished," Remnick said.