My Take on Trump / Russia
Russia had no idea Trump would run for president or get the nomination.
Russia did interfere in the election, but will have a strong case of deniability. The twelve that have been charged will have families… Russia will say they operated independently, for personal profit.
Russia also colluded with the Democrats to a lesser degree – backing both sides.
Russia was pleasantly surprised that Trump admires Putin, it was not arranged or cultivated.
Trump has received a lot of business funding from Russia, when pretty much nobody else would bankroll his projects. He is grateful for that and wants it to continue. That’s the whole of it.
Trump believes his love for Russia is a combination of admiring a strong leader, wanting to be seen as a deal-maker by making progress with the un-approachable leaders of North Korea and Russia, and being able to say he is brokering peace.