Late night hosts wonder if 'reigning queen of pain' Elizabeth Warren can fight her way back into the race

(Image credit: screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live)

last updated 26 February 2020

The Democratic presidential candidates are debating in South Carolina on Tuesday night, and "if the last debate is any indication, ladies and gentlemen, this thing is going to be a donnybrook," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "The reigning queen of pain" is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who "some pundits were ready to bury" after poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire. "But after her performance in the Nevada debate, Warren's back on the map thanks to her hammering of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg," he said.

After Warren challenged Bloomberg the nondisclosure agreements his company had women sign, Bloomberg said they mostly didn't like his "jokes." Yes, Colbert deadpanned, "every comedian knows you have to get nondisclosure agreements when people are hearing your jokes." He pointed viewers to his own NDA, which is very short. And Warren wasn't done burying Bloomberg. "Wow," he said after playing one jab. "Warren is just following in the words of Michelle Obama: When they go low, we also go low, because that's where Mike Bloomberg is."

"Bernie Sanders won big in Nevada on Saturday and is now considered to be the frontrunner — that's right, there's a 78-year-old man running in front," Jimmy Kimmel joked on Kimmel Live. "Boy, the debate on Wednesday was a disaster for Mike Bloomberg," he added. "It was a real Vegas magic show. Elizabeth Warren sawed Bloomberg's campaign in half in Las Vegas. Everyone piled on him." Bloomberg, meanwhile, is dumping money into the race, Kimmel said. "He even hired the Houston Astros to go around stealing the other candidates' signs."

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"After the Nevada caucus, the Democratic nomination picture is becoming clearer," Trevor Noah said at The Daily Show. "Warren and [Sen. Amy] Klobuchar need a miracle to get back in the race, [Joe] Biden and [Pete] Buttigieg are fighting desperately to be the moderate alternative, and as it stands, Bernie seems to be on a clear path to winning the most delegates. And I can tell you now, when he wins them, he ain't sharing s--t. 'It's not us, it's me!'" 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.