Did he really expect them to do anything other than dig in for the whole enchilada?
If somebody keeps coming pleading to you with ever bigger offerings, why negotiate.
Is this the same guy that wrote the “Art of the deal”?
Hoo-yeah. He keeps giving them a deal that sounds quite reasonable, which he knows they can't accept, because of their crazy base. That in effect keeps putting the shut-down on them, making them look nasty and stupid again. This gives him more and more latitude, like money in the bank, to do whatever he wants when the time is up.
And he gets to decide when the time's up.