Joel Pollak's analysis on this debacle was solid: it was an elaborately designed ploy to humiliate Ryan and friends and put them in a weakened position. The people already hate them and love Trump--primarily because they're already aware that the establishment was against him from the get go. As such, Trump can only benefit from republican failures.
Trump campaigned hard for this bill and threatened legislators who didn't vote for it that he'd come after them. He and his surrogates are still talking up Ryan, while blasting the conservatives for not supporting it.
I've said all along that Trump, while leagues better than Clinton, had a Bloombergian moderate streak and his open support for this bill was proof of that.
