That's what the "would be" indicates directly in front of the part you quoted. And in reference to your comment below, I am definitely not referencing Obama, that doesn't even make sense because he did not dismantle American Empire in his two terms, in addition to not really being a leftist at all.
English is ambiguous. Your statement can be interpreted as "I thought the guy we elected (a specific individual to whom I refer coyly, not by name) would destroy everything" or "I thought it would take electing a certain type of person to destroy everything".
