Is anyone surprised? There is this inexplicable affinity between Trump and Putin. It's genuinely baffling, since it serves him very poorly (there is strong support for Ukraine in the US). What do you make of it is up to you, whether it's just his general admiration for dictators or something else. Ukraine is absolutely right to go its own way, with or without American support. Fortunately, the EU appears to stand firm, at least for now.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/12/majority-americans...