At the Republican midterm convention, Donald Trump stepped before delegates and donors to defend military strikes against Iran, weaving together foreign policy justification and domestic political mobilization into a single address. The appearance, marked by sharp attacks on Democratic opposition and concrete financial pledges to GOP campaigns, affirmed that Trump remains a gravitational force in Republican politics even without holding office. In the long arc of American political life, the moment illustrated how military decisions abroad rarely stay abroad — they return home as campaign argu