Stephen Colbert tries to get Elizabeth Warren to pick Bernie or Hillary, gets Trump harangue instead

Elizabeth Warren won&#039;t pick between Clinton and Sanders, yet

(Image credit: Late Show)

published 31 March 2016

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was on Wednesday's Late Show, and Stephen Colbert wanted to know one thing: Hillary or Bernie? "Bernie Sanders is calling for a 'revolution'; Hillary Clinton is not calling for a revolution, she believes slow and steady changes the D.C.," Colbert said. "Which one appeals to you more, Elizabeth Warren?" She didn't bite. But Warren had some strong opinions about Donald Trump.

Colbert set her up by arguing that she and Trump have some policies in common. "Both of you feel that guys on Wall Street are getting away with stuff that they shouldn't," Colbert said. "He wants to tax the hedge-fund guys — he thinks they're getting away with murder. Isn't there some unity there between you and Donald Trump?" Let's be really clear, Warren said. "Donald Trump is looking out for exactly one guy, and that guy's name is Donald Trump. That's the deal. He smells that there's change in the air, and what he wants to do is make sure that that change works really, really well for Donald Trump."

Colbert played devil's advocate, noting that Trump says that he's a winner and now wants to "win for America," and Warren agreed that yes, that is Trump's major claim. But she isn't buying it: "He inherited a fortune from his father, he kept it going by cheating and defrauding people, and then he tricked his creditors through Chapter 11." Colbert read a few tweets Warren posted about Trump, repeatedly calling him a loser, then asked why she's "getting down in the schoolyard with Donald Trump? Isn't this just name-calling?"

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No, Warren said. "This is taking the credential he claims he's running on — and that is his business success — and saying, 'No, buster. We're not buying that.' He is not a business success, he is a business loser." She wasn't done: "He wasn't out there doing these fabulous deals. He started out rich, he cheated his way to getting richer. That is not going to build an America for hard-working people. He's going to leave them in the dirt like he's left everybody else in the dirt." Colbert wasn't quite done, either. "Before we let you go, who are you going to endorse, Hillary or Bernie?" he asked. "And feel free to give me a variety of non-answers." And so she did. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.