And that is the bases for all the unproven/false/groundless election fraud claims Trump made and is still making. Crowd size can be used as a ballpark estimate of the final outcome, but depends on where the rallies are held. Drawing 20,000 people in Beaufort, S.C. a state he easily won doesn't translate into votes in De Pere, WI where only 750 people attended that rally.
His aides and advisers knew that crowd "size didn't matter" in the states he would easily win, but it mattered in the swing states and while just a guess, his people probably decided not to tell him the facts. And we're talking about a guy's golf cheating that is legendary; “He kicks the ball out of the rough so many times the caddies call him Pelé.”
We know all about his ego so is it possible because of it his thought process and in his mind, the only way he could lose is if he was cheated?