Trump's Texas convention turned into a self-celebration that may have hurt the Republicans it was meant to help, and his own allies are bracing for a rough midterm.

• An AI-made tribute video cast Trump as God's chosen caretaker of America, and even sympathetic viewers found it strange.
• Trump had the crowd raise their hands and swear an oath to "cheat like hell" in the midterms, treating winning as more important than the vote itself.
• He spent much of his Ken Paxton endorsement mocking how Paxton looks, dresses, and talks, undercutting the one candidate the event was supposed to boost.
• Organizers gave away tickets and the hall still wasn't full, with Trump's approval sitting near its lowest point ever.
• The roughly $40 million cost came from Republican Party fundraising, not Trump's own war chest, which he is expected to keep.

Outlook: Trump's own circle privately expects heavy midterm losses, followed by impeachment pushes, hearings, and investigations.