Same thing they did to Palin to secure the election for Obama.
Same thing they did to Romney by advising him to “go soft” on Obama after he surprisingly won the first debate.
The GOP consultants are geniuses at getting Democrats elected, which has been their goal for a long time.
You may have hit upon something. The GOP consultants have proved themselves to be stupid, again and again, as you have noted.
May be that is why Trump has success in all polls. He ignores the consultants.