Personally, I think when they realized Trump would win and saw all those millions in small donations, they saw Trump as a money machine and nothing more and then figured, once in office, they could control him or oust him if need be. I know there’s been no shortage of RNC snail mail coming to my mailbox wanting donations.
They see Trump as a cash cow and thought him dumb due to his public persona and lack of refinement in private.
I get that begging snailmail from GOP, too. And the robo-calls, too. They’re dead, and they don’t know enough to roll over!