Byron York: Trump Bounces Back

Say you were a Republican lawmaker contemplating breaking with Trump. You didn't do it Saturday, when several GOP officials jumped, because you wanted to see how Trump would do in the debate Sunday night. Now you've seen it — a more aggressive, hard-hitting and focused effort than Trump's losing performance in Debate One — and you're probably not going to abandon Trump now.

"Sometimes Republicans get a little weak-kneed," Trump adviser and surrogate Rudy Giuliani told reporters after the debate. "I happen to be a Republican who has very strong knees." With the debate over, there were likely a lot of stronger GOP knees — at least until the next Trump controversy erupts.

Contrary to expectations, the debate did not begin with a punch-in-the-gut question about Trump's lewd video. Instead, an audience member approached the issue in the softest, most indirect way, asking both Trump and Clinton whether they feel they are "modeling appropriate and positive behavior for today's youth?"

Neither candidate actually answered the question, but Trump did a far better job than Clinton of pivoting to issues — the issues he wanted to talk about, including Obamacare, terrorism and the trade deficit. In the first debate Sept. 26, Trump didn't seem to know what a pivot was. The second debate marked the moment he learned that basic debate maneuver.