Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel joke through the highlights of Thursday's Democratic debate


Thursday's Democratic presidential debate winnowed the field down to a near-manageable 10 candidates, and former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren shared the stage for the first time, Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's live Late Show. He raised an eyebrow at Andrew Yang's free-money opener, creatively mimicked Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) hoarse voice, and took a drink the first time Biden lashed himself to former President Barack Obama. "It really helps you pretend Obama's still president," he joked.
"Sparks flew" between multiple candidates when the topic was health care, and "one of the most dramatic moments was when Julián Castro went after not only Biden's health-care plan, but Biden's favorite name to drop," Colbert said. "Ooooh, the crowd did not like Julián playing the old man card. I think he should really think twice about his new slogan: 'Castro 2020 — Shove the Elderly Onto an Ice Floe.' Don't worry, Julián, it's not like old people vote."
Beto O'Rourke showed courage, "and not just political courage," by vowing to take away AR-15s, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) referenced a 15-year-old movie when discussing climate change, and "Biden got technological when talking about education" — unfortunately it was very old technology, Colbert recapped. "So in the end, what did we get? Ten candidates, four moderators, three hours, two languages, and hopefully, one person who can beat Donald Trump."
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"I actually think a woman has a better chance against Trump, especially in a debate," Jimmy Kimmel said at Kimmel Live. "Women are much better at handling babies than men, it's just a biological fact." He imagined the 10 candidates as sitcom characters, each with a pretty clever nickname, noted that "some of the candidates went after Joe Biden like he was some kind of deadbeat dad on The Maury Povich Show," and judged that overall, "it was a good debate."
"I don't know who won the debate, but watching candidates discuss the issues intelligently, using real facts, I'd forgotten what it was like," Kimmel said. "It was like walking out of North Korea and into a Costco." 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.
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