If Russia and Trump really were good buddy/buddies as ALL the alphabet networks alleged, then why didn't Putin attack Ukraine in the Trump era? Why did he wait for slow Joe to be in for a year? Please answer this. I'd love to hear the crackpot theory on this.
Because Trump presented less of a threat, and Putin then didn't feel the need to invade Ukraine outright. Putin is known for methodical planning, and the way things have been going the past three weeks makes so little sense, that the invasion seems more like a knee jerk reaction than something Putin had in mind for years and years. Putin made much more sense when he was still talking only about sending peacekeeping troops to the Donbass region. Then the plan was likely to start integrating Donbass into Russia and exerting more influence on eastern Ukraine between the Dnieper river and Donbass, slowly chipping away at Ukrainian independence.
Putin's biggest worry is Ukraine joining NATO, but beyond that he also fears American opposition and a strong Europe. Some things to consider about Trump...
1) He not only frequently praised Putin and was especially impressed by Russia's progress in Syria (which consisted mostly of Russia flying unopposed over Syria, going after ISIS and other opposition of Assad with bombers and cruise missiles, and then letting the Syrian Arab Army try to clean up the leftovers on the ground), he even defended Putin against accusations of humans rights abuses, e.g. how some journalists reporting negatively on Putin had a tendency to end up in jail or dead.
2) He frequently criticized NATO and even entertained the idea of withdrawing the US from the organization. It was part of his America-first strategy, and he tried to sell the idea that NATO needs the US far more than the US needs NATO. Supposedly, NATO was wasting American taxpayer money to prop up the security of European nations. Several of his advisers were convinced that Trump would make a serious effort to withdraw if he had won re-election. It would've been the biggest gift to Putin, since the US is also the biggest supplier of troops, weapons, and funding to NATO.
3) He frequently tried to antagonize the EU and at one point even claimed it was created to take advantage of the US and was therefore a foe of America. This was welcomed by Putin, who tried to sow division among European countries and erode trust in the EU government. Putin had been trying to establish close relationships with various right-wing groups and parties throughout Europe, hoping their nationalism and anti-EU sentiment would help to drive a wedge between the countries and weaken European solidarity, and Trump became kind of a cult hero to some of these groups/parties.
4) He was no friend of Ukraine and had a special dislike for Zelenskyy. The impeachment trial of 2019 was a result of Trump withholding hundreds of millions of dollars from Ukraine as a way to try to blackmail Zelenskyy and Ukraine into digging up dirt on Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine. Of course, in his mind, the impeachment trial was in part Zelenskyy's fault for not being more cooperative with Trump. Trump and Giulliani also tried to push the idea that foreign interference in the 2016 election had come from Ukraine, not Russia, and expected Zelenskyy to officially investigate if he wanted Ukraine to receive the money.
All this considered, Putin thought Trump could be very helpful in helping him tighten his grip on parts of Ukraine, and he had long term plans in Ukraine that involved major infighting in Europe as well as the US pulling out of NATO. The current administration having the complete opposite approach is what made Putin nervous and somehow made him believe that Ukraine would slip away if he didn't invade now. The people who claim that Trump could've stopped this or that Biden is not doing enough seem to overlook the fact that having the US fight Russia directly - e.g. sending American troops to Ukraine, establishing a no-fly zone, etc - is a great way to have the nukes start flying.