They don't need 4D chess, they control the propaganda apparatus, oversee a docile population, are protected from the consequences of their mistakes, are unfettered by decency, and have decades of experience knowing which lies work to stymie their constituents and disarm their enemies - it's the one area in which they are competent.
But ultimately it won't save them, because while their influence is great, it has limits where their hubris and incompetence do not.
It's both.
They don't need 4D chess, they control the propaganda apparatus, oversee a docile population, are protected from the consequences of their mistakes, are unfettered by decency, and have decades of experience knowing which lies work to stymie their constituents and disarm their enemies - it's the one area in which they are competent.
But ultimately it won't save them, because while their influence is great, it has limits where their hubris and incompetence do not.