This rally is like what happened to his reality show.
People forget that while "The Apprentice" was initially successful, the ratings declined steadily for six seasons.
Facing cancellation, the producers of the show (not Trump) revamped it as "The Celebrity Apprentice." Instead of young ambitious wannabe executives competing for a job with Trump (and really, how many of them do you remember?) it became C-list celebrities vying for money to give to their favorite charity.
That goosed the ratings initially. I mean, who doesn't want to see Gary Busey arguing with Meat Loaf? But it was plugging holes in a sinking ship. They're so desperate to keep the circus going that they'll do anything. The difference this time around is that they don't have the very competent producers of the TV show available.