Speaking to CNN afterward, Donald Trump described the 12th Republican presidential debate as an “elegant evening.” A dozen debates into the 2016 primary campaign, Trump might as well have been talking about a night at the opera.

Trump’s primary opponents didn’t exactly lay off him, especially when it came to calling attention to his lack of policy specifics and his deviations from conservative ideology. Marco Rubio in particular played to his strengths, hit the right emotional cords on Cuba and Israel ahead of the crucial Florida primary and shied away from the personal attacks on Trump he now says he regrets.