Putin's character didn't merit a high opinion before this, but supporting Cheeto doesn't improve things

Not hardly.

From AP - 

Putin says prosecution of Trump shows US political system is ‘rotten’

Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted Tuesday that the criminal cases against former U.S. President Donald Trump are political revenge that show the fundamental corruption of the United States.

“As for the prosecution of Trump, for us what is happening in today’s conditions, in my opinion, is good because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others democracy,” Putin said at an Eastern Economic Forum gathering in Russia’s Pacific Coast city of Vladivostok.