I did not vote but I tacitly supported Trump in the final weeks only because he seemed to me to be a case of a real non-president making it past the gatekeepers.

I find it difficult to believe he is a puppet, however, given his past behavior as a private citizen. I think it's more likely he is himself an elite, with a strong ego and mastery of technical persuasion and negotiation gambits. He is not a con man, because he delivers results. That said, he certainly makes use of deception and misdirection to come out ahead.

When opponents underestimate his IQ and fear that he is an unpredictable madman, they are falling for a negotiator's gambit, and it allows him to keep getting the better end of the deal.

Trump is the kind of person who can sabotage the establishment and win, because the establishment is comprised largely of individuals who are incompetent and unaware of their own incompetence.

The higher rungs of the establishment, however, are more shrewd, and will resort to force to eliminate him.

If they fail to eliminate him and he makes it in, I think he will have to sup with the devil for a time, but he will use a long spoon, and there is a good chance he will actually do most of what he said he will do, because he is a producer not a politician.