Hyperbole and wild-eyed speculation aside, the important point is that I think the train of events playing out will have long term consequences. The most immediate one is the balkanization of the internet as countries and regional groups scramble to put up barriers to keep the undesirables out of their back yards. The US government has probably permanently damaged or perhaps destroyed it's claim to be the leader of the Free World so what and who is going to fill the gap? With weak leadership in the EU and Russia's perennial imperial ambitions perhaps the Kremlin is going to use this to start to drive a wedge between Western Europe and the USA - something it was unable to do during the Cold War. Over a long period of time, with the USA focussing more on China, that would leave Western Europe more vulnerable to (or even accepting of) Russian influence.
