In a departure from long-standing political tradition, the Republican Party gathered in Dallas in September 2026 for the first midterm convention in its history, with President Trump and Vice President Vance addressing supporters in a deliberate bid to sustain the energy of a presidential campaign through the quieter, harder terrain of a midterm cycle. The move reflects a deeper anxiety within modern democratic politics: that enthusiasm, once kindled, must be continuously tended or it fades. Outside the hall, protesters gathered as they have throughout Trump's political life, a reminder that t