Goldberg is mostly correctly.
But what he fails to see is that the popularity of Trump despite all the negatives he notes is that sign of how desperate and hungry the base is for someone, anyone, to stand strong.
Trump popularity did not skyrocket because he attacked illegal immigration, it skyrocketed because he attacked illegal immigration, got excoriated for it in the media and some losing some PC business contracts, and instead of pulling the typical spineless milquetoast Republican move of immediately retraction and apologizing for being alive, he actually defiantly continued to pound the same message even louder. That’s when the base warmed to him.
Because the base is desperate for someone who has some fight in him.
Actually he does see that, in fact, it's how he explains his popularity. He's a bit snotty about it, but he is not blinded to that dynamic at all.