5 point scales are dumb because there’s too much ambiguity with 2s and 4s. Since everyone has an inconsistent definition of what those mean, they don’t really mean anything. Knowing that intuitively, people spam 5s and 1s because those are unambiguous.
3 or even 2 point scales are better. Dislike, Neutral, Like / would not recommend, would maybe recommend, would always recommend or just removing the middle option to push people off the fence.
And also he defined that term very specifically. He said only that Trump is acting in the best interests of Russia. When someone normally uses that language, they mean they are in the employ of a country, like a spy.
So, it’s meant to be inflammatory and spur action on the part of the US and Europe.