I remember reading about a political leader [possibly a dictator but not certain] who was rather out of touch and unpopular; when pressured to step down, he resigned believing that doing so would trigger protests and rallies in favor of him by his supporters and intended to carry that wave of support into a revolution to regain political power. Instead, he was shocked by the failure of any mass movement to support him.
I don't remember exactly who this person was, and google is not being helpful in this case. Does anyone know the person I'm talking about?