Speed Reads

2020 Democratic debates

Trevor Noah and Jimmy Fallon recap the 'Destroy Joe Biden' Democratic debate

Wednesday night's Democratic debate "was fairly civil, and when tonight's debate started, it looked like it was going to be more of the same," Trevor Noah said on Thursday's live Daily Show. There was a lot of agreement about health care, going "all the way from Medicare for all, with no private insurance, to whatever Marianne Williamson was talking about," Noah said. "That's a pretty bold move for a candidate to say, 'I'm anti-plan.'" And Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.) seemed surprised people could see him.

"But it didn't take long for people to remember that this is a race," he said, and "the action of the night, the thing everybody's going to be talking about, really started when Eric Swalwell took the first shot at frontrunner Sleepy Joe." Joe Biden clearly "had a target on his back," and when the topic turned to race, Sen. Kamala Harris stepped up, and once "Kamala had the floor, she was going to wipe it with Biden," Noah said. After two "brutal" exchanges, "Kamala was bussing Biden right out of the debate," he said. "Seriously, Biden hasn't had such an intense standoff with a black woman since Michelle caught him sneaking a Big Mac to Barack."

"You could tell that this had become Kamala Harris' night," Noah said, "because Joe Biden did something that no one on that debate stage has ever done: He cut himself off."

Yes, "tonight was the second Democratic debate — or as nine of the candidates called it, Operation Destroy Joe Biden," Jimmy Fallon said at The Tonight Show. "Everybody went after Biden. But with 10 people on stage, it was less of a debate and more of like a lightening round — or in Bernie Sanders' case, a struck-by-lightening round." At the end, "a lot of people thought Kamala Harris won the debate," he said "She was so good, Trump endorsed Biden so that he wouldn't have to face her." Tarik Trotter wrapped both nights up with a debate rap recap, and you can watch Fallon try to keep up below. Peter Weber