Ties are absolutely relevant when the guy is doing stuff like removing Ukraine aid or Russian sanctions from the Republican platform. Look up Paul Manafort.

Nobody is claiming Trump is a genius. The Russian ties are all out there in the open. The only open question was whether they rise to a criminal level. Trump apparently thought they did when he panicked and fired James Comey to halt an investigation. I don’t think the connections were necessarily criminal, just un-American (that of cozying up to corrupt dictators while denigrating allies).