Or they scared the shit out of him, but I definitely consider the point you made one of the most likely possibilities. Like I asked during the campaign. What if the MSM Trump hate was in reality designed to promote him, overdoing it on purpose. They know how low the Trust is in the ancient MSM outlets. Maybe they also used it as a test to measure which medium was the most powerful propaganda tool. Internet vs ancient MSM.

Never underestimate the enemy, and so many people do.