The counterfactual doesn't make sense. Which country would stop or grind to a halt after electing a corrupt president? I think almost all countries would keep running at a basically normal capacity until failure, yet that doesn't prove those countries have great systems.
This will need a lot more time and hindsight to make general statements in terms of the wider picture.
I think it’s sarcasm. In other counties such corruption would trigger revolution, and the political system would grind to a halt
It'a not abt whether it keeps running. It's whether its citizens are able to maintain their rights.