>>64137837
Trump is convinced that there's some magical foreign policy gambit by siding with Putin and keeping him in a stable political position because some part of his mind is still heavily focused on the Democrats' failed attempt to link his 2016 election win with Russian interference in the US political process. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't - either way, Trump is really steadfast in the belief that Putin isn't hostile... at worst, Putin is "neutral" and Trump is the guy to bring him onside to do... something.
What that "something" is doesn't matter either. Trump has been slow to understand how presidential power works, but he's finally cottoned onto foreign policy being the one thing that the president can do a lot with. So among all the problems the US currently had in his in-tray - as well as the problems he has added - Trump is really, really convinced that there's a major, overarching policy success by siding with Putin.
This is despite the fact that there's no reality where Putin will, for example, suddenty decide to abandon China or anyone else in BRICs. That's a complete fantasy. There is no long-term advantage for Trump siding with Putin.