He is ignoring the electoral map, seemingly not trying to change red to blue or defending red from the blue. Having rallies in states he has no possibility of winning

'Rally effect' convinces Trump to deny Clinton lead seen in polls

"Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, talks with Rachel Maddow about the remarkable lead polls show Hillary Clinton has over Donald Trump, and the "rally effect" that has Trump and his supporters convinced the polls are wrong. Duration: 9:01"

http://on.msnbc.com/2b50Et3

The pollster in this piece makes the guess Trump just likes the applause and this is just ego...well the ego I don't doubt, but Trump is not an idiot, he is a first rate huckster. So good in fact he wound up winning the GOP nomination for president...wow.

That is where and when things changed. What happened here is hard to tell. The two weeks surrounding the conventions are a blur...ending with the Khan gold star fiasco. But that is where the stars started to come together.

The most powerful man in Media just found himself without a job.

Instanly there is speculation not whether he will land on his feet but rather will this be the end of Fox News the biggest and most popular network on TV.

Roger Ailes Is Fired And Fox News Is On The Verge Of Complete Collapse

"Fox News continues to deny it, but it appears that Roger Ailes has been fired from the network. Ailes's termination could lead to a collapse of the network as key Fox talent all have clauses in their contracts that allow them to leave if Ailes departs Fox News"

http://www.politicususa.com/2016/07/19/roger-ailes-fired-fox-news-verge-complete-collapse.html

Shortly after this...

NYTimes: Roger Ailes Will Be An Advisor To Donald Trump

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/8/16/1560728/-Breaking-Roger-Ailes-Will-Be-An-Advisor-To-Donald-Trump

Now I am pretty sure how this went down....The phone rings in Trump Tower and the voice say I have a deal for you.

The next piece of the puzzle.....

"Steve Bannon runs the new vast right-wing conspiracy—and he wants to take down both Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush."

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2015-steve-bannon/


Now ignore the electoral map...instead see media markets... This makes sense.