On the night before an election that could cost Republicans their congressional majorities, President Donald Trump sounded less like a leader rallying his party and more like someone eager for the entire ordeal to end. The House remains at risk, while an extremely GOP friendly electoral map could still help Republicans hold the Senate.

A Republican president determined to limit the damage would ordinarily use every remaining hour to campaign in the handful of states that could decide control of the Senate. That would mean working crowds, courting local media, and hammering voters’ concerns about affordability and gas prices.

Trump has chosen a very different closing act. Instead of presenting an urgent case for Republican candidates, he has appeared tired of campaigning and increasingly detached from the congressional majorities hanging in the balance.

Nearly two full days before the last polls closed, Trump was already complaining at rallies that he was “wasting my time.” His speeches have stretched for two hours, consuming precious time during the final push before voters make their decisions.

The rallies may also be creating headaches for Republican organizers who have other work to do. “One Republican official said the Trump rallies were too time-consuming during a peak period when GOP activists would otherwise be door-knocking, canvassing and doing other get-out-the-vote activities,” CNN reported last Friday.

Then there is the substance, such as it is. Trump’s speeches have included his fixation on the ass of Republican Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio, lies about gas prices, praise for his gaudy White House decorating, and his professed “love” for inflation.

He has also promoted imaginary $5,000 bribe checks while candidates face competitive races that could determine who controls Congress. Rather than staying focused on the issues identified as most important to voters, Trump has repeatedly wandered into material centered on himself and his own obsessions.

That pattern reached a revealing point Monday at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. During what was supposed to serve as his closing argument, Trump instead descended into an extended ramble about pool plumbing.

Amid that detour, Trump offered an admission that sounded remarkably like an early concession. “For some reason, the sitting president doesn’t win the midterms,” he said. “But we gave this a very strong shot.”

The party holding the presidency may struggle during midterm elections, but the source argues Republicans appear positioned for an especially severe defeat Tuesday. Trump’s wording was notable because voting had not even started, competitive contests remained unsettled, and he was already describing the campaign in the past tense.

He did not speak as though Republicans were still giving the election everything they had. Instead, he delivered a resigned acknowledgment that his effort had been made and, apparently, that the result was now beyond his concern.

That posture clashes with the reality facing Republican candidates whose political futures remain on the line. Voters can still be persuaded, doors can still be knocked, and the remaining competitive races can still decide whether Republicans retain control of either chamber.

Every hour matters during a closing stretch like this, particularly when control of Congress could turn on only a handful of states. Yet Trump has seemingly lost interest in using those hours to fight for his party’s candidates or protect its majorities.

The image is almost too perfect. Standing by the Reflecting Pool, Trump effectively threw in the towel before polls opened, freeing himself from the burden of pretending that Republican congressional fortunes mattered more than another rambling performance about Donald Trump.

That leaves Republican candidates to face the final hours with a president who sounds ready to move on before voters have spoken. His own fame and fortune remain more compelling to him than the fate of his presidency, his party’s majorities, or the wellbeing of the American people.