More than anything else, including racism, regressive tax cuts, and reactionary views on social issues, Donald Trump’s brand is based on testosterone. In his view, swagger translates to strength, and strength is the difference between winners and losers. And so, he attacks relentlessly, and never admits to backing down, even when he does, which is more often than you would think.
Trump’s behavior at the Cleveland debate was completely consistent with this guiding principle. The problem is that it didn’t work; even some of his fans were put off. So what does he do now? Back off and implicitly concede that his bullying tactics aren’t working, or double down in the face of clear public disapproval?
As Biden would say, he is what he is, so I think you’re going to see just a slightly toned down version of the same madman at the last two debates. He’s simply not capable of changing course at this stage in his career, if indeed he ever was, which is questionable.