Yep, that's gotta be killing him. Really, the ONLY reason Trump wanted to be President was attention and adulation. He's a showman. That's all he's ever been. He's never even been as rich as he lets on -- he just creates the appearance of it because he's insecure and needs to impress people. Narcissists are driven by insecurity -- what looks like self-love is actually self-defensiveness. They're terrified of being really seen, so they have to project this image.
The rallies helped Trump believe he was projecting that image. He needs that. And he found a base that responds well to shiny objects, and for a while it was magic for him.
They're starting to figure out he's toxic, though, so now they're on the search for another white-supremacist-dictator like they crave... but one who's got more control over himself and his image. And, dangerously, that's what they'll settle on.
Make no mistake: the Republican base, for the most part, has given up on democracy and the Constitution. They want to live under a dictator, specifically a theocratic one.