On Thursday evening, President Trump traveled to Baltimore — a city he’d recently disparaged as a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” where “no human being would want to live” — to give a pep talk to House Republicans. The lawmakers were gathered for their annual strategy retreat, the first since losing control of the House in the midterms, and high on the list of hot topics was how to reclaim the majority.

The president took the stage at 8 p.m. and delivered his usual meandering exercise in self-aggrandizement and fear-mongering — part script, part riff and all id. He alternated between boasting about his achievements — rolling back regulations, cutting taxes, appointing judges — and charging Democrats with plotting to destroy America. He warned that, among other outrages, Democrats want to seize everyone’s guns, outlaw cows, throw open the borders and protect MS-13 gang members looking to “slice up” young women. He groused about windmills, proclaimed his love of cowboy hats and indulged in an extended rant against energy-saving light bulbs. Trump’s America, he promised, would always be incandescent.

The president trolled his 2020 Democratic challengers, mocking Pete Buttigieg’s name and height, re-upping his “Pocahontas” slur and mimicking a doddering “Sleepy Joe.” He spent even more time reliving his 2016 victory, slipping into different voices for different characters, including Bill and Hillary Clinton. More than two and a half years into his presidency, Mr. Trump cannot kick the Hillary habit.

Wrapping up his 68-minute verbal odyssey, Mr. Trump left lawmakers with a simple message: “The best is yet to come.” But for the winning to continue, he stressed, “we have to stick together, like they do” — “they” being the Democrats. “They’ve got nothing else on us!”