Writing on the wall regarding vicarious warfare:
1. Low trust toward the US government,
2. Political polarization, and
3. Culture of short attention span.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/15/opinions/putin-understands-about-america-zelizer/index.html

"After the disastrous wars in Vietnam and Iraq, American support for foreign intervention has remained fragile. The legacy of those two major wars means that generations of Americans have seen policymakers justify operations based on false and misleading information. Fears that a military conflict could spin out of control, claim substantial casualties, leave veterans both psychologically and physically scarred, while costing billions of dollars to the detriment of domestic programs have remained all too clear.
....
The second point Putin likely understood is that achieving enduring bipartisan support for anything is nearly impossible in an era of intense political polarization. Though there are moments when the parties can come together, as they initially did when Russia launched its assault on Ukraine in February 2022, it’s only a matter of time before the red-blue divide takes over.

What the US does overseas is not insulated from the bitter divisions that constantly play out on Capitol Hill.
....
Finally, Putin is certainly aware that we as a culture have a short-attention span. In the era of never-ending social media feeds, Americans have fleeting interest in any news story. Notwithstanding a serious crisis — and we are already staring down a few — the odds are that Americans will turn their eye toward the next big thing as soon as a new report or viral video emerges. Politicians in the US who are embroiled in controversy have learned to capitalize on this by refusing to step down and choosing instead to weather the storm before the public turns to something else.

With regards to foreign policy, this can prove extremely challenging to presidents who seek long-term support for an initiative overseas."