Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social, and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectariangroups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics".
He is for maximum chaos within the Dem party so I would imagine he's on team no Joe, but I think he's being quiet because it's not in his interest to give away his play.
Putin is former KGB and all he's been trying to do is bring back the USSR. Unfortunately, at the time of the USSR's decline, it was Republicans in office in the US.
My theory is that he remembers that and is actively attempting to sway the republican party to be in his corner because if you can either live off of the animosity or feed the animosity of the strongest military presence on the planet, then it's a win for him no matter what. I personally thing that regardless of how trump runs his mouth, he's easily influenced when it comes to money. Especially money for people that are on his side of the court. So ultimately I don't think Putin has any interest in direct influence with the democrstic party, but knows how to sway the also influential members of the GOP. He was a spy and if we know anything about the CIA, their job was to destabilize
I don’t think Putin is as naive as to try to bring back the USSR. He is trying to be a gangster and do gangster shit, and currently annoyed at the West because they’re interfering and bringing bullshit he doesn’t control closer in towards his sphere of influence than he wants them to be, and he wants to fuck them up for it and get back to doing his gangster shit. That’s it. It’s not overly complicated.
John Mearshimer has more analysis, parts of which I don’t agree with, but on Putin’s overall motivations I think he is pretty spot on.
He knows the Republicans will let him do what he wants and the Dems won't. He doesn't give a fuck about the Dem party, but by destabilizing them and sowing chaos he will bring about the victory of his preferred team. As you said, that's all he cares about. (Thought I find no reason to believe he will stop his conquest at the former borders of the USSR. I think he will grab as much territory and power as he is able.)