Donald Trump is still playing the old political hits, but the spectacle has lost its shine and the crowds are no longer responding as they once did. With Election Day approaching, the president and the Republican Party are confronting a country that appears exhausted by the chaos.

After two punishing years of nonsense, abuse and neglect at home and abroad, political gravity is crashing down on Trump and his party. The closing stretch of the midterms has become less of a victory lap than a frantic attempt to rescue races Republicans never imagined could become vulnerable.

Trump’s tour has taken him into deeply Republican states, including Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Alaska, South Carolina and Mississippi, as he tries to protect House and Senate seats. His political operation canceled in person rallies in Kansas and Iowa, then quickly restored them while seeking to add more telerallies.

Those telerallies do not require additional air travel for the 80 year old chief executive. The scramble captures the disorder surrounding a campaign that is trying to project confidence while behaving as though the political floor is collapsing beneath it.

After a decade with Trump dominating the political scene, he has entered what the column calls his “Fat Elvis” phase. He appears tired, old, overweight, embarrassing and increasingly unable to persuade even parts of the MAGA base that his familiar performance deserves another encore.

The bigger danger is what Trump does when circumstances turn against him. He lashes out, orders bogus prosecutions, attacks allies and sides with dictators while pursuing a war that he cannot win, cannot end and may escalate again.

A presidency in decline is a miserable instrument for governing, and it is hardly an appealing vehicle for a midterm campaign. Trump has no successes to showcase and no actionable agenda to offer, while his political numbers and second term appear beyond recovery.

Instead, he has reached for grand promises involving new business openings, oil pipelines and cash bonuses that the column argues are unlikely to materialize. The sales pitch may have worked in 2024, but voters in 2026 are no longer buying the political version of Santa Claus.

Trump’s return to power has been marked by rising costs, international conflict and brazen corruption. He has shattered government norms, neglected the economy and remained indifferent to the financial anxiety of living in America, even while obsessing over vanity projects and proclaiming a “golden age.”

Whatever happens on Tuesday, the following two years promise political torment. Questions remain about whether a likely divided government can function and what Democrats might do on oversight and affordability if they control one or both chambers of Congress.

Partisan warfare on Capitol Hill is also poised to intensify as the 2028 presidential campaign begins immediately after the midterms. Vice President Vance, if he runs as expected, would face the increasingly difficult task of seeking the presidency while continuing to serve as Trump’s loyal wingman.

That position would leave Vance trapped between an unhinged president and a deeply unhappy public. Meanwhile, Trump’s fury over corruption appears selective, emerging only when he is not the person benefiting from it.

America needs leadership regardless of how the balance of power settles. The country needs a president with purpose, not merely a person occupying the office while discord and resentment continue to motivate, define and divide the political landscape.

The possibility of another path remains, even amid the chaos. A leader could emerge who rejects political division rather than riding it, offering Americans something constructive to support instead of another exhausting demand to organize their lives around anger and grievance.

The midterms may be ending, and Trump’s presidency may also be entering its twilight, but he will retain the power to inflict damage and spread chaos. Matthew Bartlett, an MS NOW political analyst and former Trump State Department appointee, argues that choosing the next president will give Americans an opportunity to define and possibly defy what comes next.