I suspect he may have been bought off. That’s how Trump operates if he can’t intimidate you, he co opts you. Maybe they promised him a major White House gig. That’s how he got Admiral Ronny Johnson and Dr. Oz to give him clean bills of health. Johnson was promised the VA job, while Dr. Oz got a spot on the President’s Fitness Council. As several biographers have said, Trump looks at all relationships as transactional.