President Trump was a different candidate in Thursday night’s final debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden. He had to be; there is general agreement, including inside the Trump campaign, that the president was too hot and too aggressive in the first debate and that he made a poor impression on millions of people watching on television. On Thursday, Trump cooled it down and is likely to reap a benefit for making watching an easier experience for those millions who tuned in a second time.

That appeared to be one lesson from a Zoom focus group conducted after the debate by messaging expert Frank Luntz. Speaking to 15 undecided voters — and yes, they appeared to be really undecided — Luntz asked for a one- or two-word description of the candidates’ debate demeanor. For Biden, the words were mostly bad: Among them were “vague,” “very vague,” “non-specific,” “cognitively impaired,” “old,” “uncomfortable,” “elusive,” “grandfatherly,” and “defensive.”