Actually local media on the ground here in Iowas seem to be in agreement that this stunt was a last minute hail marry to avoid a 2nd place finish. It is well understood by local voters and media alike that Cruz’s GOTV infrastructure is unprecedented in Iowa. People on the ground here think this sideshow is Trump’s acknowledgment of this.
I agree with that but I would word it a little bit differently:
The Cruz voters are better organized than the Trump voters and are more of a sure thing on caucus day.
What Trump is doing is overcoming that voter-organization deficit by motivating his amorphous majority to get them to definitely show up and caucus.