"...The reality: Trump may be getting along with Russia at the expense of his perception by Americans...."

Most accurate sentence in the entire article, with "perception" being the operative word.  Americans react to garbage and ignore the substance.  Trump isn't much different in reality than many other politicians and predecessors, other than being brash and a blow-hard.  Americans react to that more than to substance.  It's why Americans bought into the whole "war on terror"...reality is terrorism threatened nothing of the sovereignty of the planet.  The result?  Trillions spent killing hundreds of thousands of innocents...and Americans still buy into it.

This country is getting what it deserves.