The biggest problem when considering the politics of FDT is thinking in terms of government and leadership, when what we need to focus on is mob bosses and organized crime. Putin is a mob boss, and FDT thinks he is one. fElon is hopped up on ketamine and is out of his mind most of the time.
Those clowns are assets, who think they're shot callers. They don't even have a seat at the table.
Their mob of cultist losers is enamored by all the anti-gay stuff and being able to sieg heil in public ... but they'll never be anything more than cannon fodder with dreams of wealth that will never be realized.
...At any moment the GOP could unite and oppose Trump and create a crisis for him. Their cowardice has been astounding but they can still act without being put in a Gulag or shot.
Putin's reach extends well beyond just FDT. Remember when the Russians hacked the DNC server and we found out about Hillary Clinton's email? Well, the RNC server was also hacked by the Russians. Notice how, around the time that FSB had access to the emails of the Repubican Party, folks like Lindsey Graham magically turned into FDT allies? I'm not saying Repubicans are easy targets for blackmail, what with all those family values and anti-LGBTQ positions they hold, but put that idea through your Occam's Razor test and tell me if you think it holds up...