Trevor Noah explains why Elizabeth Warren is catching fire in the 2020 Democratic race

You may think of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) "as part of the coastal elites," Trevor Noah said on Thursday's Daily Show, "but you may be surprised to find out she came from very humble roots" in Oklahoma. In fact, there's a lot you may not know about Warren, like that she taught special-needs kids before becoming a law professor, and she proposed to her husband back in the 1970s.

"And Elizabeth Warren wasn't just asking guys with great legs to marry her," Noah said. "While she taught at Harvard, she became one of the country's top experts on bankruptcy — and not in the Donald Trump kind of way. No, she knew the law so well that she would often be called to testify in front of Congress. And one of those hearings, from nearly 15 years ago, is pretty wild to watch now." This one pitted her against Joe Biden.

"That's one of the reasons people like Elizabeth Warren so much, because she's been fighting against the predatory practices of banks and credit card companies, and this was long before it was cool," Noah said. Warren was such a force on the issue that when her idea for a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau became reality, President Barack Obama wanted her to lead it — and Senate Republicans blocked her. So she ran for Senate, won, and "her popularity just kept on rising," Noah said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"Now she's making waves in the 2020 race, and incredibly, she's managed to stand out in this crowded field thanks to her unique strategy of having a plan," Noah said, or rather, lots of plans. "So that's Elizabeth Warren: Third place in the race, lots of detailed ideas, and a long history to back them up. And look, we still have a long way to go until the primaries, but for right now it seems like, much like her husband, this campaign has legs." Watch below. Peter Weber