“Trump wasn’t doing back room deals until he had to keep delegates he had already won.”
Until he announced last June, Trump only had to deal with union thugs, corrupt businessmen, and the worst of the world’s leadership. Little did he realize that they’d be a day at the beach compared to the corruption of the U.S. Republican Party. Quite an eye-opening experience, I’d guess.
It has been an eye-opening experience for Trump and his voters wanting our votes to be counted not discarded.
You are correct. Trump didn’t anticipate the need to defend delegates because no one has ever had to do that. You didn’t see any past candidate having his delegates poached like this by the party hacks in every state.