Putin waiting for Washington to collapse if Trump wins

Another route does not depend on conscious changes in policy from the White House. In this scenario, the aftermath of a Trump election would see the US government and society fall into disarray. Preoccupied by their own internal conflicts, the elite would lose the will or the ability to project power around the world. That period of disarray might not have to last long to have world-shaking consequences. As Putin later recalled: "We lost confidence for only one moment. But it was enough to disrupt the balance of forces in the world." A period of "lost confidence" caused by post-election…