The argument of “who is Putin’s favorite?” being Trump is not at all the power-move his supporters may believe as it’s most commonly viewed as “Trump is Putin’s puppet”.
Actions taken during his first and especially in the first 45 days of his second term also seem to correlate with the notion that “even if Trump isn’t INTENTIONALLY an asset to the Russian government (which simply means “useful”, not an agent) – IF HE WAS, the situation would likely be identical to one where he ISN’T.”
His long term call to dismantle NATO which began in 1987 immediately AFTER four months of going back and forth to Russia at the dime of the Russian government,
(he put out a full page ad in the NY Times) and his long term fondness for Russian oligarchs for that whole time period, all indicate more his “useful idiocy” at best that is so effective, he might as well be a hired agent.
That’s how the common view is about the Trump and Russia relationship.
That’s one of a few things that makes Trump stand out and not always directly comparable to other Presidents. It’s not a single difference of policy but a paradigm shift of how the USA relates to the rest of the world, shifting alliances.