It may be that Trump is maximizing his post-Presidency relevance. If he leaves claiming he was cheated, he probably intuitively prefers this to accepting a loss and showing a shred of integrity. https://twitter.com/pbump/status/1346307709424050178

And it could well be darker. For example, he has openly said that he may have to leave the country. If he accepts the result and then leaves, he's just a fugitive ex-President. But this way, if he does leave he can claim he is a govt-in-exile and continue to seek funding.

People continue to want to see his actions as not only disreputable, but confused / aimless. Bump says he's strategically creating confusion. But he's consistent and clear about some items, eg opposing immigration.

The better question is how someone so hostile to purported American political norms has achieved the success Trump has. It's not by creating aimless confusion that keeps him in the spotlight. That's a tactic which doesn't explain much.

1) Trump made politics more entertaining, much more, even for those disgusted by him.
2) Trump champions an anti-elite populism which was underserved by the political class which disdained those voters and views.
3) Trump acts unconstrained by law or morals. He goes to the mat.

A dispassionate assessment of how Trump has succeeded has to be the starting point for institutions and responsible actors to think about how to reform our system.

We are way too close to autocracy to accept that Trump is a fluke, unique, or otherwise just a blundering wannabe.