this all just says you're not really reading much about what's going on right now, or you're only reading right wing news sources

there is broad consensus among academics and journalists who study/cover authoritarianism that that's exactly what this is. it has a predictable path. this includes that individual authoritarians don't have to understand what they're doing at all. Trump does what he does due to deep narcissism and other personality disorders, he can't even spell "fascism". He's an obvious ignoramus. Bur the effect is, authoritarianism. The administration's next moves can be predicted and understood based on the study of this phenomenon.

Someone making decisions “in order to crush the population into submission” definitely does have to understand what he’s doing. That’s what “in order to” means. Indeed, the public has to understand it too; how else will someone with a PFAS-weakened immune system know who they’re supposed to submit to?