This does a few things. It energizes Trump's base. It encourages his enemies to make fools of themselves when they blow a silly meme out of proportion. It distracts people from more serious issues. Now he's hit the mother load. CNN has stepped in it big time. A reasonable case can be made that they committed a crime by implying they would dox the poster Trump got the meme from if they continued to post things they disagree with.

This has greatly magnified the effect of Trump's original tweet; and even if no legal action is taken, CNN has damaged their image by engaging in possibly unlawful behavior. In threatening an average person, they've cast themselves in a more sinister light, and made the antipathy from Trump's base more personal. Undermining the image of CNN weakens them as an enemy, and makes any future retaliation or legal action against them more acceptable.

There are downsides for Trump and his base, such as looking less presidential; but I think CNN has taken the brunt of the damage.

I think CNN is going down so I'm happy either way.