because theyve been laying groundwork and slowly infiltrating every corner of our society for over 50 years.

The slow burn was for purpose, to keep people from noticing, and so that anyone that did notice and point it out would look like a crackpot.

and, imho, I think they didnt expect the opportunity trump presented globally, in his first term, but they chose to come out of the shadows and try to exploit it regardless, which is why they’ve had the stumbling blocks they have had that has given opportunity to fight it.