It is not an understatement to conclude that America’s government and political system are in a state of monumental dysfunction perhaps not seen since 1861. The evidence is overwhelming.

Two likely presidential candidates few Americans want are running for that office. One is declared by Democrats, independents and even former staffers to be unfit for any office. The other is considered by a large majority of Americans irrespective of party to be too old and too impaired to be president.

As for Congress, Will Rogers’s cutting observations provide a more optimistic view than what’s happening today.

Rogers said: ”With Congress, every time they make a joke, it’s a law, and every time they make a law, it’s a joke.” Today Congress seems incapable of passing a law let alone coherent legislation to address the nation’s most pressing crises: the border, the war in Ukraine and aid for Israel and Taiwan.

The Senate passed a bill to address these issues, exempting the border but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) declared it insufficient and cast doubts on its passage. What happens remains to be seen. But as long as Donald Trump controls his party by fear, the border issue, as it advances his presidential campaign, may not be addressed until after the election.

How the U.S. arrived at this breakdown of government is a puzzlement. But here is a thought experiment. Suppose secret Soviet and Russian documents exposed the real villain of our ills: The KGB. One reason why the discord could only be the result of the KGB and its predecessors is that no nation could be so foolish as to allow such disarray to occur naturally.

Feliks Dzerzhinsky is well-known to Soviet scholars. The brilliant son of a Polish nobleman, Dzerzhinsky became Lenin’s right-hand man in charge of the feared Cheka, the forerunner to the KGB and Russia’s Federal Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service.

Nearly 100 years ago, under Dzerzhinsky, Soviet agents began recruiting individuals in foreign states who would become unwitting “useful idiots” in advancing the interests of the USSR and later Russia. Later, in addition to exploiting human sources, in the post-Cold War world, Russia became adept at manipulation through social media.

One example is how Russia, along with Dominic Cummins, Boris Johnson’s Rasputin, helped persuade over 1 million unregistered British voters to support Brexit and vote to leave the European Union.

Now take this thought experiment one step further. Had the Mueller Report on alleged Russian influence over Donald Trump followed its part three recommendations to the logical conclusion as the basis for indictments, the accusation of “collusion,” which is not a crime, would have become conspiracy, which is a crime.

One reason it wasn’t: Perhaps Vladimir Putin wanted Trump to be president. If this is the case, would the hypothetical secret documents have revealed that Soviet/Russian operatives penetrated both the Democratic and Republican parties with money, women and other incentives and did the same with Congress?

Beyond the thought experiment, the truth is that only Americans could have allowed this to happen. However, returning to reality, should Biden and Trump become the nominees of their parties, the November election could be catastrophic. The fact that presidents are decided by the Electoral College and not the popular vote means that the winner could again come down to a handful of precincts in a handful of states. Trump’s claims of a stolen election in 2020, disproven in dozens of court cases, continue through this election cycle.

The vote could be so close that lawsuits over recounts and election irregularities that were contested could prevent certifying a president until well after Jan. 20th. In that case, who would run the government? The Speaker of the House.

To return to Lenin, what is to be done? Here is another and more ingenious thought experiment: Both Biden and Trump must drop out of the race. For that to happen, one of the major court cases against Trump must convict him before the election and sentence him to jail. While Trump would appeal, a conviction might mark the end of his candidacy.

With Trump gone, Biden’s argument that only he could defeat Trump is no longer an issue. Who would take Biden’s place is less important than the future of Vice President Kamala Harris. Given her unpopularity, the compromise would be for her to remain on the ticket as number two.

Who would replace Trump is unknowable. And who in this thought experiment could stage this double coup?

Only one organization was capable: The KGB. And, for better or worse, it no longer exists.

Harlan Ullman Ph.D. is a senior advisor at the Atlantic Council and the prime author of the “shock and awe” military doctrine. His 12th book, “The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD: How Massive Attacks of Disruption Became the Looming Existential Danger to a Divided Nation and the World at Large,” is available on Amazon. Twitter/X: @harlankullman.