I agree with both of you. He’s giving red meat to his base here, but they’ve already been locked in and fired up for a long time. He’s not helping himself with undecideds. Unless his staff is somehow under the impression that this “lipstick” attack will spur a tremendous turnout, it makes no sense to me.
Maybe the base isn't as firm as we think it is - maybe their internal polling is showing something we aren't seeing in the public stuff. To quote a blogger, "Maybe that sound you hear is the sound of Gucci bags clicking shut all over the country."
Or maybe he's just a poseur.