TLR wants the world to burn because they gave up fighting for a better future.
This may sound silly but coincidently I've been rewatching this anime series called Legend of Galactic Heroes. It's one of my favs because of how much world building goes into the series and also I love the philosophical ideas expressed in the series. For those who are unaware, the gist of it is that there is a democratic republic alliance and authoritarian monarchy who battle for supremacy throughout the series.
What you said reminds me of a line from that show where one of the characters tries to learn about history in order to understand the current.
Below is the clip (ignore the fact the poster of the video seems to be a fascist who is highlighting the clip as a positive...) and catch what is said at 2:40. It basically touches on exactly what you said. Warning: some nsfw images at the beginning.
This is a series from the 80s and 90s. It's based on some novels written in the early 80s. So, the concerns and trends people notice in Trump aren't some new phenomenon. Those who have some sense of history have seen them before and it was even referenced in the way you expressed, today, back then and well before it. Technology and sometimes culture changes. The fundamental nature of human beings do not and therefore it's easy to see trends if you're paying attention.
Edit: below is this full episode and can be watched without seeing the rest of the series. Worth a watch to see a good presentation of the degradation of democratic society into authoritarianism even if fictional. For good documentaries on this, the first episode of a BBC documentary called the Rise of The Nazis is a good one. Also a six part series called the Death of Yugoslavia is also a good one too. America isn't an exception, despite Americans thinking they are exceptional, and you see the same degradation play out.
https://www.bytchute.com/video/dpRA8bDbOKQ4/