Donald trump is not like other presidents, and he has his own ideas. Anybody deviating from them is sacked by him. Trump reportedly had a long talk with the British Prime Minister May, and he agreed that Russia must provide the answers to the latest episode of a Russian defector in the UK being infected with a special nerve gas, but he fell short of blaming Russia for the incident till "full facts are known."
This was one of the reasons for the sacking of Tillerson the secretary of state who had condemned Russia in a lengthy statement.
The Washington Post has reported that Trump took a long time to blame Russia in contrast to his spontaneous reaction against Islamic terror and could mean that there is some rift between Trump and his European allies.
An admirer of strong men
Trump has for long been an admirer of strong men and rulers. During the election campaign, he had complimented Saddam Hussein as an example of a man who knew how to deal with Islamic terror groups. He had also praised Putin, the Russian president as a strong ruler. The fact that he got mired in a controversy with the Russian connection undermined his ability to reset relations with Russia.
Campaign promises
The US president is a man who acts as per his ideas, and he is not bothered about what the world thinks.
He is this quite different from earlier presidents. An example is his recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital Of Israel. This was an election promise, and unlike past presidents who sat on the issue, Trump executed it and had directed that Jerusalem is recognized as the capital of Israel and the embassy shifted there. In the weeks to come some action on the Iran nuclear agreement can also be expected.
Russian involvement
The Russian defector who was a spy earlier for Russia was administered a special type of nerve gas which is banned. It is possible that he was infected with the gas on orders of the Russian intelligence agencies who wanted to make an example of what happens to a defector. But at the same time, no concrete facts of Russia's involvement have emerged, and Russia has denied all the allegations.
Anyway even if the Russians had carried out the attack, they would not have admitted it, so this denial is a formality.
The fact remains that Theresa May is on a weak wicket as the UK is no longer a world power. That is the reason the Russians have treated the British threats with disdain. Trump also has not unequivocally condemned Russia, and thus May has one arm tied behind her back. The British ride piggyback on Uncle Sam, and this time May is alone.