This is a very outdated idea in our present political and economic climate. The driving principle behind all our problems is very definitely malice, even if it’s couched by several layers of obfuscation. The economic and political system is designed to extract wealth for the ultra rich at the expense of everybody else. That leads to behaviours that will be toxic and damaging, even if the given individual didn’t have any malicious intent.

I don’t think there was malice. I’m thinking it’s stupidity either way. If it was intentional, the intent is almost certainly stupid.