All’s well does not end well for Joe Biden, especially in Tuesday’s Democratic Debate in which his once cemented front runner status seemed to be superseded by Senator Elizabeth Warren. No one was quicker to point out this predicted chain of events than Trevor Noah and his guest CBS correspondent Alex Wagner on The Daily Show following the debate.
Noah wasted no time mincing his words as he went straight into the questions at hand, including the often repeated query which inevitably pops up after every debate; “All right, let's jump straight into it. My favorite question to ask because it's not a real thing, who won the debate?”
Wagner then made the not so startling observation of Warren’s gradual rise to the top of the pack, while granting her the crown jewel of winner of the debate. She also noted Biden’s inability to draw the same ire from his fellow candidates:
You know, I feel like Elizabeth Warren survived the debate and was taking on a lot of incoming fire… So I'm going to say she won it. But it's hard when you have -- that Democratic field, you've made note of how many were on that stage. It's like when you pour water on gremlins and they start like multiplying, it was hard for people to get a word in edgewise. She came prepared to push back. I thought she got a lot more fire than she would, given the fact that technically Joe Biden up until a couple of days ago is the guy that's been leading in the polls. What was amazing about the debate is how little he seemed to matter to the rest of the field. Joe Biden didn't get any of the incoming fire that Elizabeth Warren got. He almost got no attention from the rest of the field.
Noah and Wagner both recognized the world of trouble Biden found himself in when he was not the subject of ridicule from his competitors. Noah remarked on the lack of attacks; “Yeah cause that means that other people don't think you're a threat. Which means you're not a threat.”
Wagner accorded with the theory:
Yeah, I think it is a gift and a curse, to paraphrase Jay-Z, to be in the hot seat, right? Elizabeth Warren likes being acknowledged as a frontrunner. She doesn't like taking on all the criticism she got I'm sure. Joe Biden I'm sure wishes a little bit more of the fire was coming his way. It was a remarkable turn of events given where we were in the last debate.
At least with Warren being the new target for the Democrats, Biden was able to leave the night with only minimal questions regarding his son’s business dealings.
Transcript below:
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
10/15/19
11:25:57 PM
TREVOR NOAH: Alright, let's jump straight into it. My favorite question to ask because it's not a real thing, who won the debate?
ALEX WAGNER: You know, I feel like Elizabeth Warren survived the debate and was taking on a lot of incoming fire-
NOAH: Right.
WAGNER: So I'm going to say she won it. But it's hard when you have -- that Democratic field, you've made note of how many were on that stage. It's like when you pour water on gremlins and they start like multiplying, it was hard for people to get a word in edgewise. She came prepared to push back. I thought she got a lot more fire than she would, given the fact that technically Joe Biden up until a couple of days ago is the guy that's been leading in the polls. What was amazing about the debate is how little he seemed to matter to the rest of the field. Joe Biden didn't get any of the incoming fire that Elizabeth Warren got. He almost got no attention from the rest of the field.
NOAH: Is that a bad sign?
WAGNER: Yes. I think if you're Joe Biden-
NOAH: Yeah cause that means that other people don't think you're a threat. Which means you're not a threat.
WAGNER: Yeah, I think it is a gift and a curse, to paraphrase Jay-Z, to be in the hot seat, right? Elizabeth Warren likes being acknowledged as a frontrunner. She doesn't like taking on all the criticism she got I'm sure. Joe Biden I'm sure wishes a little bit more of the fire was coming his way. It was a remarkable turn of events given where we were in the last debate.
