Even with Trump insisting to have won the debate “by a lot”, Republicans were virtually unanimous that Trump had come off second best in a series of exchanges that saw the vice-president deliberately bait him on his weak points while he responded with visible anger.

Trump has become so accustomed to the Goebbels’ ploy of “if you repeat a lie enough times, it becomes true”. While the terrifying part of that ploy is that it usually works, it does have limits when supporters are asked to deny something they personally witnessed. He can say he did great, but it’s very much like the wizard asking people not to look behind the curtain – after they’ve already looked back there.

What should be a GOP call of “let’s make sure Trump does better next time” can only become “Trump already nailed it and if you don’t agree then you’re wrong”. I can’t imagine it will do anything but alienate swing voters who may have been on the fence but could be off it if the party messaging is completely disconnected from what they saw.