But she was elected directly by actual people, wasn’t she? It’s not like she was put in an office by her party alone, people voted for her - as far as I remember even after the Jewish space laser incident.

And that’s fucking scary. I don’t think the smoke screen theory is wrong, but it seems more like a collateral benefit. People in the US are stupid, brainwashed or insane enough to elect a person like her into a position of power.