Folks misunderstood the accusation that Donald Trump’s presidency was part of a Russian plot to disrupt American liberalism, or that Trump was a secret agent or a useful idiot working for Vladimir Putin.
The Mueller Report said its investigation “did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” But the investigation concluded that Russia did interfere in the 2016 election “in sweeping and systematic fashion,” and that Trump welcomed the interference. Moreover, the report linked many Trump associates with Russian spies.
All of that’s a red herring, though.
The connection between Trumpism and Putinism is hiding in plain sight. It’s called Christian nationalism. The connection between Trump and Putin is ideological and characterological, not tactical. Both leaders are cynical authoritarians who promote and exploit Christian nationalists, with the goal of returning their country to a state of neo-medieval theocracy. That is, both wish to restore Christendom to subdue the masses and distract them from the kleptocratic, Orwellian consequences of authoritarianism.