I saw a theory earlier that seems a little too plausible…trump is far enough down the dementia hole that he actually can’t grasp that he isn’t facing Biden any more, and that’s a big part of the panic. Their candidate can’t remember who he is running against.
Could be as simple as the old “no leader is as popular as a war time leader” but.
See also: Argentina and the Falkland Islands. Every so often, an Argentinian leader starts rattling his sabre over the Falklands to drum up support at home, despite the islands population being overwhelmingly in favor of staying British.