I wrote a couple of weeks ago that I thought there was a chance, a very small chance at this point, that Trump would drop out in October if he saw that his chances of victory was nil. We know that Trump fears losing. His biggest fear is that he will lose in November and then go down as just another one term loser president that the voters rejected.
To avoid that, I can see the possibility that he goes on national TV and says he has done all he needs to do. That he is a winner. That he fixed the economy and restored American greatness. He will then go on to rail against the Democrats, the Deep State, the media, and even the Republicans for letting him down. It is always someone else's fault except Trump's.
We also know that Trump doesn't give a flyin' fig for his supporters. It is all about him.
Given that Trump supporters swallow all of Trump's effluence I expect if Trump starts a news channel they will all run out and subscribe.
You know what they say about fools and their money.
What a fascinating time.
On one hand, Trump and his base have created and maintained their own little world apart from everyone else. Because his need for approval is nothing less than pathological, he focuses on squeezing his psychological nourishment from them because of their absolutely unconditional devotion.
On the other hand, he clearly pays rapt attention to his detractors, and there's no doubt that they wound him pretty regularly. Even more interestingly, he makes absolutely no effort to hide the fact that they hurt him, as evidenced by the way he quotes and paraphrases them so regularly.
If I had to bet -- and I don't -- my guess is the adoration he gets from his flock will be a stronger pull for him. He's already laid the foundation for his excuse if he loses -- the Democrats cheated and the media helped them. He knows his flock will parrot exactly that line if it does come to pass.