Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah puzzle out Biden's 'dog-faced pony soldier' insult

Late night hosts on Biden&#039;s odd insult

(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, The Daily Show)

published 11 February 2020

Last week's Iowa caucuses continue to embarrass Iowa Democrats, but "tomorrow's vote in New Hampshire is the first actual primary of the 2020 election," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "The latest polls in New Hampshire are all over the map. Most show Bernie Sanders first, followed by Pete Buttigieg," and "one poll in New Hampshire said New Hampshire Democrats would prefer an extinction-causing meteor over Trump re-election. Hey New Hampshire Democrats, you okay? This explains why they've changed the state motto from 'Live Free or Die' to 'Please Let Us Die.'"

"With all the polls relatively tight, the candidates are getting nastier with each other, especially Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg," Colbert said, showing some of Biden's shots at Buttigieg. "But the strangest moment on Biden's campaign-resurrection tour came on Sunday," when Biden called a voter "a dog-faced pony soldier," he said. "What's going on inside Biden's head when he comes up with these insults?" Colbert tried out a Biden insult generator to find out. "Believe it or not, this was not the first time Biden has used this particular weird insult," he said, and it turns out "there's a perfectly reasonable, rambling explanation: John Wayne and Indian chief."

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Buttigieg has responded to Biden but hasn't attacked him in any ads, "and maybe that's because he doesn't need to, because Biden keeps attacking himself," The Daily Show's Trevor Noah said, showing the "lying dog-faced pony soldier" clip. "Those are strong words that ... I don't really understand at all," he said, trying various out various literal representations of a dog-faced pony solider. "Nobody has been able to find this in any John Wayne movie, and I guess that's the beauty of quoting something from before the internet was invented," Noah said. "But look, wherever the line came from, it's not a great look for Biden, because it's yet another example of him beefing with a civilian on the campaign trail."

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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.