Trump need not be a “puppet” at all for our woes to be abetted, if not perpetrated, by Russia. That false dilemma is blinding. Puppet or no puppet? That isn’t the question at all. Why bother to pull his strings when millions of ordinary Americans are so easily conned and manipulated? He’s just one of them, the one with the loudest bullhorn.
I don’t think Trump is worth much to Putin because he’s too impulsive and unreliable and way too self-centered. But owning some immovable rocks in the House and Senate would suit Putin’s style. So would shutting down independent news sources such as the local newspaper and bookseller you used to have.
The Russians are patient. They play the long game. The forces have been in play for a long time, decades. They’re probably sensing the prize is near, but they won’t have won until the U.S. pays, with steep interest, for the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. We have a lot of tears to shed yet before Putin is satisfied.