I think it "makes sense" when you realize that the right has pushed the idea that calling something out as racist is worse than actually being racist. And the media plays along with that framing because they're terrible/are afraid to alienate the right/"moderates" who think the same. Like it triggers them, and I use "trigger" in a completely straight, non-sarcastic manner, regardless of the underlying facts of the case.
As for Trump itself, even if I intellectually understand the case of "Well actually he's just so narcissistic that the real driving motive is people who criticize/disagree with him" this argument just falls completely flat for me and is betrayed by, among other things, even the most cursory glance at his word choices. Even Fox's Chris Wallace pointed out that Trump breaks out word choices like "infested" when it comes to people of color. You can also see it with where he usually brings out "low IQ" and even his "no u" accusations like calling Cummings the real racist. He consistently uses diction like that when his targets of attack are not white. So even in the framing that he's "just" attacking people who disagree/criticize him it's demonstrable that the manner in which he attacks them changes based on race.
To say nothing of bringing up the pattern recognition and history such as his housing discrimination patterns or echoing arguments like "the real racists are the people calling out racism!" that we've seen previously from people like George Wallace.
And looping back to the media, because of this reticence to use the word racist they contort themselves into "it's all a planned strategy!" because without that they have no other explanation than "Well, he's racist, and America voted for a racist, and a solid 35-40% continues to support him" and again they're afraid it'll alienate/trigger the right and "moderates" to say so. Polling has consistently shown the majority of people think the attacks have gone too far and it'll tun off the suburbs.
Did you watch him attack Jeb Bush? Bill and Hillary Clinton? ---
September 1, 2003; November 4, 2007; September 2, 2013 Congratulations to DP Oblivion in the Guru Contest!