Lol shitted or shatted, I like that
I guess what you’re referring to is the old cliche, “cut your nose off to spite your face”. Personally yeah, I think that the protest vote element was a big part of what happened in 2016. People wanted something different and Trump the candidate was definitely “different,” there’s no doubt about that…I would argue that Trump’s administration was a pretty typical Republican administration once in power but that was in the future obviously.
And BOY is he DIFFERENT. But as stated else where, he successfully found one topic that a given demographic was passionate about and so, a two party system being what it is, people voted for that one thing. That almost nothing was delivered would seem to confirm that he wasn't interested in WHO supported him, he simply sought power to advance his business interests. Which is exactly what he did.
That wall didn't get built and yet nobody seems to remember that.
But with Putin supporting Trump - is that a good sign or a bad sign? Dues Putin want a strong, united, successful US? Well, examining his statements, no. That SHOULD be a huge red flag and yet it doesn't appear to be mentioned in the US media.
Hence there is discussion as to certain media outlets such as Zerohedge being indirectly funded by Putin. I don't have any conclusive proof which is why I have couched it as a discussion, not as a fact - but the far-right I feel wouldn't hesitate to states it as fact if it was in their interests. It's run by a Romanian billionaire (who is also the CEO of Etoro) and given the huge spend, I simply ask 'who gains'. An Occam's Razor if you will.
There are other sites I'm not personally well enough read about but also show unusual and obscure financial structures. I always begin by asking 'who gains' and presume that their is someone who invests and so someone is hoping for a return, of one sort or another. But again, I won't couch suspicions as facts... some do, I notice. That's dangerous.