It is a pity you have to put the big disclosure at the top of your comment. But our media have made things very binary black and white.
Not buying into the 'red scare' means that in the eyes of some you must be a Trump supporter.
This is a failure of critical thinking and far too many people fall into this trap, thereby perpetuating things like 'RussiaGate' when it no longer makes sense to do so.
The suspicions won't die down amongst those that have been sat in front of their televisions feeding their imaginations with 'RussiaGate'. To them 'it happened but it could not be proven'. Their suspicions are still confirmed.
There is also a failure to take people at their word when it could be prudent to do so in this world of politics and lying. People have motivation for lying and people have motivation for being honest.
The leadership in Russia - Putin, Lavrov and others - have stated why it is that they have not secretly foisted Trump on the American people. But those that don't listen don't want to take them for their word on that.
Fundamentally the Kremlin see other nations as having national interests and, in the case of America, they have no need to care about who sits in the Oval Office as the national interests will be the same. The Pentagon isn't going to go away, the need for oil isn't going to go away, the need for the world to be using the dollar as the world currency isn't going to go away. American capitalism is always going to be what it is. American national interests are a constant as far as Russia is concerned. They cannot expect some external change, they have to be self-reliant and foster their own good relationships with traditional partners.
The Russian leadership have also stated why it is not in their interest to put 'their man' in the Oval Office. It is not due to any standards of conduct it is simpler than that. Thinking two moves ahead, what legitimacy would a puppet President hold, how long would he/she last and how would Russia be treated should the American people find out?
The Kremlin have thought this out. However, explaining to someone that the Russians are not motivated to influence the American elections also falls under the 'instant disclaimer'.
'So you must be a Putin fan?' is the expectation for proffering this explainer. But it is not about that, it is about understanding motivation and the Russian leadership are not motivated to influence American elections in some super-sneaky way.
There is a failure by the press that have pursued RussiaGate to empathise and understand others, whether they be the people that voted for Trump, the Russians, the Democrat machine or even themselves. It is because of this that you are correct, the press will not reform. It is not in their culture and they don't have the mindset to do so.