CNN's Jake Tapper and Jon Lovett pick Democratic debate winners and losers on Stephen Colbert's Late Show
Ten top Democratic candidates debated in Houston on Thursday night, as The Late Show noted in song.
"Who was thirsty for a big moment and who actually got one?" Stephen Colbert asked CNN's Jake Tapper. "I don't think anyone got a 'big' moment, I didn't see anything tonight that's going to change the trajectory too much of the three frontrunners — Warren, Biden, and Sanders," Tapper said. He didn't think Beto O'Rourke's mandatory AR-15 buyback pledge was a game-changer or plausible, but "Sen. Cory Booker had a good night," though "I don't know if it's going to be enough for him," given that "almost two-thirds of the Democratic electorate" supports the three frontrunners.
"Is someone paying Julián Castro to attack Joe Biden?" Colbert asked, noting Castro's salvo. "It was a tough attack. I mean, he seemed to be suggesting that Joe Biden wasn't all there and had forgotten something he had said," Tapper said. "But you saw the audience turned on Castro when he said that, and also, I think that he was wrong." "So he was kind of mean and inaccurate," Colbert summarized.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
The marquee matchup of the night was supposed to be Biden versus Elizabeth Warren, but "there was more face-off between Sanders and Biden than there was between Warren," Tapper said. "Warren doesn't really like to attack people." He had a hard time imagining any of the three frontrunners dropping out. "What would you call Biden's message," Colbert asked, "because to me, Biden's message feels a little bit to me like: 'You know how you used to feel? I am that feeling. Feel me.'" "I don't think his message is 'Feel me,'" Tapper said.
"There have been bad debates that left you feeling really sad — but this wasn't one of them," Pod Save America co-host Jon Lovett told Colbert. He thought all the candidates did well, except Castro when he attacked Biden. He also thought Harris blew a great opportunity with her botched Wizard of Oz joke, and he explained why people always underestimate Biden. Watch below. Peter Weber
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Grokipedia: Elon Musk’s Wikipedia ‘rip-off’Talking Point AI-powered online encyclopaedia seeks to tell a ‘new version of the truth’
-
7 sweet experiences for chocolate loversThe Week Recommends Treat yourself with chocolate experiences, both internal and external
-
Scientists have developed a broad-spectrum snake bite antivenomUnder the radar It works on some of the most dangerous species
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
