In my experience, after a certain age, people can only do what they know how to do. In Trump's case, his biggest success, before being president, was as the host of The Apprentice, a reality show in which he insulted, derided, and fired people. As president, we tune in daily to see who he has insulted, derided, or fired.
His reality TV episodes have included: anti-immigrant programming, with Latino children caged at the southern border; racist episodes, featuring "good people on both sides" at Charlottesville; and the obligatory segment deriding, insulting, and firing those who have criticized or disagreed with him. Episodes have also told his audience that the Virus is "dying out," despite the overwhelming evidence that it is far from over.
After watching the failed rally in Tulsa, however, and reading and listening to the comments made by his supporters, I've come to believe that cultism is the most accurate way to understand Trump's presidency. A cult is a social group defined by its particular religious or philosophical beliefs with devotion to a particular personality. The characteristics of a cult include: a leader, who has no meaningful accountability and becomes the cult's single source of power; a process of indoctrination; and cult members doing things that are not in their own best interest but in the best interest of the leader. Things like attending a political rally during a spike in the worst and most contagious pandemic we've lived through in a 100 years.