He's not running again and seems to be thinking of a legacy. Why that includes capitulating to Dems. and making nicey-nice I don't know.
I do know that he should indeed listen to his base.
Any President who doesn't use the veto won't be remembered as great. Any President who defends himself on any issue by first mentioning how much of our money he has spent on the issue won't be remembered as great. Any President whose followers claim he can't push the big ideas through Congress because he is a helpless kitten (even though his party has held both chambers most of the time) won't be remembered as great or even good.