Your explanation is definitely plausible.
I can’t figure out if the best way to think of him is as a narcissist with a silver tongue, or a destructive genius.
He is certainly not a destructive genius, or a genius of any kind. People tend to overestimate the intelligence of those who can speak and present themselves well. His life has always been one of indolence, selfishness, and weakenss; those traits do not change in the character as the years go by.
The destructive genius resides in the group who are controlling him. You surely cannot think that he could come up with all this on his own? But he is the willing agent for his controllers. His Communist upbringing and pro-Muslim cultural identification made him well inclined to accept their dictates.