You give Trump way too much credit. The whole thing isn't "by design." He is incredibly thin-skinned, and genuinely can't handle slights or attacks.
He's been this way for decades; this isn't a new 'strategy' now that he's in politics.
the only people I see crying or feeling the sky is falling in, are liberals. This is classic projection. You hear sirens in the distance and are freaking out, so of course trump is "melting down" on twitter.
snapping back at cnn and calling them fakenews isn't "melting down." He's probably giggling while he's doing it.