From one year i changed from a hardline atheist who hated Christianity to a Lutheran christian, people can change.
What does trump gain from this ? This is costing him alot of money, he is genuine because he knows how much damage his stance on immigration and Muslims is doing to his brand.
I suspect what Trump has spent is not a big part of his world. Such is the case for wealthy people.
What does one gain by running for President? A lot of national publicity for one thing. Look what being a VP candidate did for Sarah Palin.
I don’t know if that is why he is running or not, but win or lose he has his name out there more than the same amount of dollars in traditional marketing could achieve I bet.
But it sounds like you think personal marketing is part of his reason. Who knows, but Trump.