Another Way of Looking At It

Trump knew something we didn't when he started balking at the peaceful transfer of power. If he loses the election, he faces federal and state prosecution for bank fraud, tax fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud, as does his entire family. No OLC memo will spare him. https://t.co/vhyAelqTjc

— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) September 28, 2020

I still insist Trump's claims he won't go gently into that good night is simply full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. The Daily Beast had a story that Trump was laughing at the consternation he was able to stir up. I don't doubt that. But I don't think his motivations are unitary and simple.  He's not a villain in a bad TV series.  So this explanation makes sense, too.

He stumbled into the Presidency and found himself invisible and bulletproof.  Someone got that into his thick skull over four years, and he liked it.  Or it got through to him when New York started investigating his "charity" (which was only a fund to funnel money to him, nothing more) and then came back around sniffing into his taxes.  Now he's squirting squid ink in all directions, but the net is already in the water, and there's no place for him to go.

And yes, he knows he's losing:

The Trump campaign is again canceling TV ad schedules that had been booked in Iowa (9/29-10/5 flight)

— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) September 28, 2020

The Trump campaign is also again canceling TV ad schedules that had been booked in Ohio for 9/29-10/5

— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) September 28, 2020

SOURCES: The Biden campaign is expected to move forward with huge TV ad outlay in OHIO

Current start date for statewide TV ad spending in OH is 10/6; could start sooner

— Medium Buying (@MediumBuying) September 28, 2020

In November, the net gets hauled up, and he lands on the boat deck, squirming and out of his element and out of places to run to.  I don't look forward to his anguish and anxiety; I just want to see a little justice done.