Again, it’s too early to say whether Rubio’s attacks on Trump backfired: Rubio outperformed his polls in Virginia, for instance. But Trump would no doubt prefer getting down-and-dirty with Rubio over hand-size than he would the details of his bankruptcies or his relationship to the laughable Trump University, two stories that might have gotten more media attention were it not for all the ink expended on Rubio’s insults.

Finally, there was that New Hampshire debate. After Rubio “won” second place in South Carolina, it seemed that perhaps his debate collapse had been overhyped: another gaffe that dominates headlines for several days without really changing much. But it’s possible the initial conventional wisdom about his debate performance was correct. While there was no guarantee that he would have won New Hampshire, or would be winning states rather than losing them today, the debate performance did irreparably harm his campaign. He was polling second in New Hampshire and rising before that evening, but he finished fifth; his collapse kept John Kasich afloat, provided more oxygen for Ted Cruz, and, to conclude the mixed metaphor, gave Trump extra horsepower.

It’s wishful thinking among those who dislike Trump to say that Rubio would be the presumptive nominee today if he hadn’t sputtered when responding to Christie. He probably still would have failed because he wasn’t the man Republicans pulling levers in 2016 wanted. Rubio’s inability to take off, and the ceding of his presumptive voters to Trump, was a sign that just about everyone, Rubio included, didn’t see where Trump was going—largely because they didn’t get where his voters were coming from.