The massive sanctions he's placing on Russian oil make that impossible to believe.
The Trump administrations political positions are effectively a one to one match with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics which Putin aligns strongly with. Knowingly or not, Trump has been a tremendous asset to Russian geopolitics in every sphere.
These sanctions make no difference, except make people say things like you say.
I think it is fair to separate putin and russia. I mean, I don't think he uses our society as proxy for his own ego. I think he really likes Putin.
You must be one of the few who still believes what Trump says to the media after nearly 100k proven lies.
Those can also be explained by favouring usa/venezuela oil while still supporting Russian politics. For example: in the Ukraine war he is constantly seeking ways and arguments to support putins position even though he is one of the few leaders worldwide who do this.