I mean, they must know how much the public mocks them, right? What are the odds they’re actively trying to make everything worse as a Jokerfied “I’m taking the whole world out with me.” kind of thing?
Just a random tin foil hat thought, don’t take this too seriously
I don’t think they believe they’re “going down” ever. They believe they have the power of God and want to exercise it by playing with people’s lives.