The Republican party, including many who are still in office, has historically been the one most vocal about standing up to Russia, for having the strongest military in the world, and being the world's policeman. This, I think, had been true until Trump. It's very new.
It also has nothing to do with corruption, authoritarianism, homophobia, or kleptocracy. None of those contradict being strong against Russia.
It has occurred to me that a motivation for Trump's actions is based on nothing other than opposing anything Biden was in favor of. "Biden says the sky is blue? Nope, it's gray." Even the things they agreed on (Tik-Tok) he now disagrees with.
But Trump and the Republicans are not the only one who does this. It has gotten to the point that the two parties have to stake out opposing positions on every issue and members are not allowed to agree about anything.
I think it was Bob Dole who said in an interview that I heard that the Democrats were his opponents, not his enemies. Both parties want the best for the country, they just disagree with how to get there. Then he went on a speaking tour with Clinton.
