highway 680 in pleasant hill. or captioning sponsored by cbs >> a texas showdown tonight between the top three presidential candidates as they all stand side-by-side sharing a debate stage in houston.

>> it's "the late show live with stephen colbert." tonight, dems' fightin' words. plus, stephen welcomes live, jake tapper and jon lovett. featuring live jon batiste and stay human. and now, live from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: wooo! oh, yeah! beautiful!

beautiful! hello, my friends! lights, camera, action! it's live. >> jon: we're live! wooo! >> stephen: happy thursday. happy live day. >> audience: stephen! stephen! stephen! stephen! >> stephen: feel it! feel it, baby! ( cheers and applause ) nice, gorgeous. thank you, my friends, down here, up there. what's going on? thanks, everybody. hi, chris. ladies and gentlemen, so nice. it's electric, jon. it's electric. >> jon: it's electric in here. >> stephen: welcome, one and wel. ladind gentlemen, everybody out there watching, everybody in here, down there, up there, welcome to "the late show." i'm your host, stephen colbert. and we are coming to you live right now-- ( cheers and applause ) we couldn't-- legally, we couldn't put that up in if

wasn't true-- after the third democratic presidential debate. tonight's debate was a big step forward in the primary, because it narrowed democrats down to the top 10. ( laughter ) which means we're this close to the fantasy suites! ( laughter ) and we got some never-before- seen match-ups between the heavyweights. tonight was the first time biden and warren shared the debate stage. and the fireworks started early. before the debate even began, a biden aide said that the former v.p. would target warren by arguing that "we need more than plans." warren's team responded by releasing her "plan for when we need more than plans plan." ( laughter ) ( applause ) she has a plan for that. she has a plan. >> jon: a plan.

>> stephen: for that. the debate started, of course, with opening statements, and andrew yang came out strong. >> in america today, everything revolves around the almighty dollar. >> stephen: exactly! thank you! too much stock is being put on money today! and i am sure you now have something to say that won't totally undercut that point. >> that's why i'm going to do something unprecedented tonight. my campaign will now give a freedom dividend of $1,000 a month for an entire year to ten american families. >> stephen: woooo! "daddy's got deep pockets! vote for me, and i'll make it rain! shake 'em up, ladies. i've got a lot of cash." uh-huh. >> jon: ♪ money, money, money >> stephen: kamala harris promised to address voters' needs. >> i plan on spending tonight talking with you about my plans to address the problems that keep you up at night. >> stephen: you're going to talk to me about that time in third grade where i called my teacher "mom?" ( laughter ) now, bernie sanders, of course,

looks like a man who always carries a lozenge in his pocket, well, tonight it should have been unwrapped. >> we must and will defeat trump, the most dangerous president in the history of this country. >> stephen: (as bernie) "almost as dangerous as the bumblebee that i swallowed before this debate. ( cheers and applause ) got it right there! i am going into anaphylactic shock, which would be covered under medicare for all." ( applause ) warren showed her folksy roots. >> i had two little kids, and when childcare nearly brought me down, my aunt bea moved in and saved us all. >> stephen: wait-- hold-- what? aunt bea? is elizabeth warren from mayberry? can she make barney national security adviser?

now, the front runner, joe biden, was feeling the urgency of the national moment. >> i refuse to postpone one more minute. >> stephen: "because i clearly don't have a lot of time left." ( laughter ) ( applause ) and biden took aim at elizabeth warren's previous alignment with bernie sanders. >> i know that the senator says she's for bernie. well, i'm for barack. >> stephen: oooh! he mentioned obama! for those playing at home, time to take a drink. ( cheers and applause ) oh, mmm. mmm. mmm. it really helps you pretend obama's still president.

now, biden, biden painted medicare for all as too expensive and bernie wasn't having any of it. >> every study done shows that medicare for all is the most cost-effective approach to providing health care to every man, woman, and child in this country. i wrote the damn bill, if i may say so. >> stephen: (as bernie) "and it's imperative that we overhaul healthcare in this country, before the parasite embedded in my throat works its way up to my brain and starts controlling my every word and deed!" "because-- ( laughter ) ( applause ) "i am the senator from phlemsylvania." the sparks -- this is where the sparks flew a lot of night. sparks flew between biden and bernie here. >> let us be clear, joe. in the united states of america,

we are spending twice as much per capita on health care as the canadians or any other major country on earth. >> this is america. >> stephen: take that! take that, folks who say biden is gaffe-prone. he just accurately identified which country he is in! he's back, baby. though, though-- i'm not sure what that meant. i'm really not sure what that meant. though, biden did have one of his classic gaffes when he tried to refer back to senator sanders. >> nobody's yet said how much it's going to cost the taxpayer. i hear this large savings, the president thinks... my friend from vermont thinks... >> stephen: (as biden) "the president thinks, sorry, i an i sorry.dent sanders... met commander in chief sanders. i'm sorry, i mean, colonel sanders. his plan is finger-licking bad!"

was when julcastro went after not only biden's health care plan, but biden's favorite name to drop. >> barack obama's vision was not to leave ten million people uncovered. he wanted every single person in this country covered. my plan would do that. your plan would not. >> they do not have to buy in. they do not have to buy in. >> you just said that-- you just said that two minutes ago. you just two minutes ago they would have to buy in. ( biden crosstalk ) >> if you qualify for medicaid you would automatically-- >> are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago? >> stephen: oooh! the crowd did not like julian playing the "old man" card. he should really rethink your new slogan: "castro 2020: shove the elderly onto an ice floe." don't worry, julian. it's not like old people vote. the moderators didn't pull any

punches with kamala harris over criminal justice reform. >> you used to oppose the legalization of marijuana. now you don't. you used to oppose outside investigations of police shootings. now you don't. you said you changed on these and other things because you were "swimming against the current, and, thankfully, the currents have changed." but when you had the power, why didn't you try to effect change then? ( audience applause ) and then, joe biden made a very bold proposal gaffe... >> nobody should be in jail for a nonviolent crime. >> stephen: ...to which one non- violent criminal said: ( as trump ) "oh, thank god. joe 2020. i'm too pretty for jail.h joe." beto got impassioned about gun control, and he was really ready to take a big swing.

>> hell, yes, we're going to take your ar-15, your ak-47 ( applause ) we're not going to allow it to be used against our fellow americans anymore. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: damn! beto went there. that takes courage. and not just political courage-- people in texas have a lot of guns. ( laughter ) andrew yang took a moment to humanize himself, tell his story, and talked about his immigrant father. >> my father grew up on a peanut farm in asia with no floor, and now his son is running for president. >> stephen: and the "humble background games" are officially open. ( laughter ) can anyone here tonight beat "no-floor peanut farm?" the bidding starts at "slept in a bucket behind a cockfight." anyone? anyone? do i hear, "my mother grew up under a potato farm with no roof?" anyone? kamala harris ended her trade talk with a zing against the man in charge. >> but the bottom line is this: donald trump in office on trade

policy, you know, he reminds me of that guy in "the wizard of oz." when you pull back the curtain, it's a really small dude. ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: okay, okay, i get the metaphor. but "that guy from 'the wizard of oz'?" you mean the wizard of oz? ( laughter ) ( as harris ) "i'm going to fight for you. i'm going to fight for you like that guy from 'rambo.' you know, that guy, whoever that guy was." then, mayor pete weighed in on america's overseas wars. >> the best way not to be caught up in endless war is to starting one in the first place. >> ste afghanistan, and your proposal is not to have started the war? do you have a time machine?

because that would make sense. for pete's sake, doc brown is right there! ( as bernie ) "the top-- ( applause ) "the top 1% have 1.21 gigawatts!" ( laughter ) ( applause ) great scott! univision's jorge ramos asked cory booker about the ethics of booker's vegan diet. >> after the recent fires in the amazon, some experts suggested that eating less meat is one way to help the environment. you are a vegan since 2014. that's, obviously, a personal choice. should more americans-- including those here in texas, and in iowa-- follow your diet? >> you know, first of all, i want to say, no. actually, i want to translate that into spanish: no.

>> stephen: that's a pretty good joke. it's all part of booker's new comedy special, "press 1 for english, press 2 for hilarious." ( laughter ) ( applause ) >> jon: that's so wrong! >> stephen: amy klobuchar addressed climate change with this timely reference: >> this is the existential crisis of our time. it's-- you know that movie, "the day after tomorrow"? it's today. >> stephen: ( as klobuchar ) "and you know that movie 'yesterday'? that's tomorrow." >> jon: wow. ( applause ) >> stephen: biden got technological when talking about education. >> play the radio. make sure the television-- excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, the phon-- make sure that kids hear words. >> stephen: ( as biden ) "crank the victrola and put on the mitch miller!

and then get yourself a new wireless set and gather around with the whole family. listen to f.d.r. give it good to tojo and his boys!" 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. ( cheers and applause ) we've got a great show for you tonight. mr. jake tapper is here. but when we return, trump gave a speech tonight. did you know that? i bet you didn't know that. stick around. get to kohl's...

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( cheers and applause ) ♪ get down get down >> stephen: give it up for jon batiste and stay human, everybody! ( cheers and applause ) ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to "the late show"." so much more to talk about. please, have a seat, everybody. welcome back to our live "late show" following the debate. of course, just because it's not his big day, donald trump will not be ignored. so while the democrats were fighting it out in texas, trump was speaking at the house republican conference member retreat in baltimore. and on his way up there, trump turned the helicopter rotors up to 11 and paused for a quick episode of: "chopper talk." now, right off the beam, reporters asked about trump's search to replace john bolton as national security adviser, and he told them he's got plenty of options.

>> a lot of people want the job, and we-- and it is a great job. it's great because it's a lot of fun to work with donald trump. ( laughter ) >> stephen: really? really? really! it's fun to work for you? then, how come everyone who leaves your administration immediately writes a book with a title like "cave of hate snakes"? ( as trump ) "yes, it's a lot of fun to work with donald trump. he's unpredictable. he sometimes experiences a psychotic break where he dissociates and refers to in the third person. donald trump does." trump had some nice things to say about all his potential opponents. >> are there any democrats debating tonight that you actually respect? >> i respect all of them. >> all of them? i respect every one. let me tell you, it takes a lot of courage to run for office. i respect all of them. >> stephen: ( as trump )

"i respect all of them: sleepy joe, pocahontas, crazy bernie, ( laughter t e democrats were taking the stage-- is this true-- the moment they were taking the stage, trump began his speech to the republicans down in baltimore. didn't have much of a point to his speech. he bragged a lot, told one of his patented made-up stories about people coming up to him to thank him. >> people come up to me all the time. "thank you, sir. my 401(k) is up 72%," whatever it may be-- numbers they've never had before. nobody's ever seen anything like it. ( laughter ) >> stephen: ( as trump ) "they come up to me and say, sir, my 401(k) is up to numbers they've never seen before-- i'm talking florpityfive, and bun-dillion and velve. 17, but in 17, the 7's a dragon's head. sir, i'm worried i'm going

insane." trump defended his administration's recent rollback of light bulb efficiency rules. >> the bulb that we're being forced to use, number one, to me, most importantly, the light's no good. i always look orange. ( laughter ) and so do you. >> stephen: no! no! >> jon: wow! whoa! >> stephen: no, just you. ( as trump ) "i look orange. and so do you. the lights also make you look like a pile of raw ground beef in a suit, and they-- and they make you forget how to close an umbrella." while criticizing the green new deal that some of the democrats have proposed, he took a detour to slam his own party's house minority leader, kevin mccarthy. >> no more cows, no more planes, i guess no more people. because kevin is just like a cow. he's just smaller.

i had to pick somebody for that one, kevin, and i just looked at that beautiful, political face of yours. >> stephen: ( as trump ) "sorry, kev. sorry, kev. i had to pick someone. what else was i supposed to do, not call one of the leaders of my party a cow? oh, i shouldn't? i shouldn't do that? well, that's exactly what a big, fat cow would say, kevin. moo, kevin. come on, moo. somebody milk this guy!" come on, shake them udders." ♪ ♪ "he likes it, though, he likes this." then, he dazzled the crowd with his impressions of chinese president xi jinping-- yeah. that's exactly what i though and joe biden. >> and president xi of china, he

is tough. oh, boy, he is a furious kind of a guy. great guy. he is dying to see-- he wants sleepy joe. can you imagine those two guys in a room? here is xi. ( makes crazy noise ) and here is sleepy joe. "what? where am i? where am i?" "just sign here, sleepy joe, just sign here." >> stephen: what the hell was that? what was that? i don't know. i guess now we know what it's like when donald trump reads you a bedtime story. ( as trump ) "and the xi goes 'arghhhh,' the sleepy joe goes 'what?' the truck goes 'honk,' and the cow goes, 'hi, i'm kevin mccarthy.'" ( applause ) he also told one of his favorite

new fake anecdotes. >> i tell the story of a man who hates me, one of the most successful business people, always hated me, and i've always hated him. i can't stand that guy. >> stephen: ( as trump ) "and the successful businessman in that story... is me. i'm a very troubled man. all of this is all a cry for help." he even found a way to complain about another country's poll numbers. >> you know, there was a poll recently that obama is much more popular in germany than i am. of course, he is." >> stephen: ( as trump ) "i'm much more popular with the people that used to live in tien al ( cheers and applause ) the argentine, ve have always been argentine!" and he concluded by saying whatever the hell this is:

>> we will win, win, win, and we will keep on winning. you know, i tell that story, and some people love it. and probably some don't, but i think they all love it. i'm going to win in a place like-- here we go, i'm going to use dan as an example. >> stephen: uh-oh. ( as trump ) "dan, dan, you're a horse. you're a big, fat, smelly horse. somebody ride dan. give him some oats. put a saddle on him. horse dan, go stand with cow kevin, okay. you guys are like those animal pairings that everybody just loves. he also whipped out a new last name for his vice president. >> it was an incredible meeting. i sat around and chuck grassley was there, and joni ernst, and john thune, and mike pounds. ( laughter ) >> stephen: ( as trump ) "yeah, they were all there. i gotta say, mike pounce-- i love that mike pounce.

he's a big believer in crissy- anity, and our lord and savior, jerbus." we'll be right back with jake tapper. jake! get a suit on! get a suit on!

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( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: hey, everybody! welcome back! ladies and gentlemen, my first guest tonight is an emmy award- winning journalist who hosts "the lead," and "state of the union" on cnn. please welcome our friend, mr. jake tapper. ( cheers and applause ) ( band playing ) >> stephen: there you go. please! ♪ ♪

>> wooo! >> stephen: nice to see you again. how are you doing? >> i'm well. i bring you greetings from vice president pounce. >> stephen: excellent, excellent. >> that's his new name. >> stephen: thank you for being here. we're live, it's late, you had a full day already with the news, traffic on the ones, what you guys do over there. third debate. >> yes. >> stephen: i have to say i want to get into who you think won. but, ultimately, didn't america win that there's only one night of debates this time? wasn't that-- isn't that satisfying? you get to see everybody at once up there? >> i think-- but you know america is going to lose, because in the next debates it's going to be two again, because tom steyer qualified and now there are 11 candidates so it will probably be a five and a six. >> stephen: what can we do to take steyer out? i can't do two nights of this why can't they do 11? is there some law-- it can't be a prime number? >> i agree. i did an 11-person debate. >> stephen: when?

>> the reagan debate in 2013, the reagan library debate, and carly fiorina remember she campaigned her way on to the stage and we did 11. >> stephen: you've hosted these debates before. you hosted one of the democratic debates already. >> that's right. >> stephen: exactly. what is it like when you have that huge gang up there? because i've been trying to think back to the 2015-2016 debates when there were 17 republicans at one point. what is like to ride herd on those people? >> it's not fun. it's not-- and -- >> stephen: bernie sanders accused you in the last debate that you moderated of using g.o.p. talking points! >> he almost did that to stephanopoulos tonight, too, with the same kind of-- yeah, it wasn't a very effective g.o.p. talk point. g.o.p. talking points about medicare for all would be like the lines are going to be long, people will die, all i did was say your taxes will go, the premiums will be eliminated, there will be universal coverage. we played it out. we figured he would attack me anyway. >> stephen: how much did mitch

mcconnell pay you? do you expect that kind of push- back from candidates? >> yeah. definitely, like i said, we do these mock debates, these very talented producers learn the parts, and we go through them just to see, like, what questions will be-- will be good? >> stephen: do you need anybody to play bernie? because i really love doing that. >> whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! >> stephen: do you backseat 9drive when you're watching? can you watch it and enjoy it or do you back seat drive, "come on, george! follow up the question." do you moderate the screen? >> certainly not george. i thought he did a great job. i think-- what is it like when you go see carrot top? what is it-- >> stephen: mostly-- i'm just asking him for workout help, you know. he is shredded like a julienned salad. let's get to the debates. 10 people on stage. five months 'til iowa. who was thirsty-- >> where you and i met, didn't we? >> stephen: we did, we met in iowa. >> isn't that sweet?

>> stephen: we don't have time for that story tonight. who was thirsty for a big moment? and who actually got one? >> i don't think anyone got a big moment. i didn't see anything happen tonight that's going to change the trajectory too much of the three front-runners, warren, biden, and sanders. >> stephen: what did you make of-- i thought that was bold of beto going, "hell, yeah, i'm coming for your ar-15s, and ak- 47s. >> i think we know he's not going to run for senate in texas. >> stephen: i guess so, i guess so. >> i mean, you can't get universal background checks through the senate. i don't know how you're going to get 16 million ar-15s and semi- automatic weapons confiscated. >> stephen: who else do you think did well? >> i think cory booker had a good night, senator cory booker had a good night. >> stephen: was there a specific moment? >> his message is different from the other candidates. he has this very uplifting message of love and bringing the country together. and it's just different. i don't know if it's going to be enough for him.

i mean, right now, joe biden is still the front-runner at about 24%. and then you have sanders and warren, each just under 20. that's almost two-thirds of the democratic electorate is with those three candidates. so it's going to be tough to burst through. and even candidates that have burst through, like kamala harris, in that first debate, you then have to capitalize on it. and it didn't really work out for her. >> stephen: yeah, she kind of faded after that. her second attack at joe, the second time around, didn't happen. >> yeah. >> stephen: now, there was a lot of-- there was a lot of back- and-forth between julian castro and joe biden. >> yeah the audience didn't seem >> stephen: is somebody paying julian castro to attack joe biden or did joe biden kick julian castro's dog? >> it was a tough attack. he seemed to be suggesting that joe biden wasn't all there and had forgotten something he had said. >> stephen: right. and there were several attacks, not just that one. >> the one about like, "you want the credit for obama's good things but not his bad things." i mean, cory booker had done

that at the last debate. he was just smilier about it, so maybe you didn't remember it. but the one about the age i thought was a-- look, he's-- castro's campaign is struggling, and he needs to-- he's really trying to make this generational argument. and there are other candidates-- congressman ryan from ohio who didn't make the debate stage-- who has also said that joe biden is not as sharp as he used to be, and not as eloquent as he used to be. but you saw the audience turned on castro when he said that. it was-- and, also, i think he was wrong. i think what biden thinks he had said he had actually said. >> stephen: right, that is actually-- i think that is the fact check, what he was accusing biden of saying, "you said we have to pay in." he never said that. >> yeah. >> stephen: and he was kind of mean and inaccurate. and on that happy note we have to take a quick commercial break. we'll be right back with more jake tapper talking warren and biden. let's see what happens. grain bowl is full of good.am

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♪ ♪ ♪ blow a kiss, into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss, into the sun ♪ all we need is somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ ( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: hey, everybody, welcome back to our live show following the democratic debate from houston, texas. our guest is our friend jake tapper here. let's talk about-- there was a lot of talk tonight that there was going to be a head-to-head, a lot of hype about the head-to- head between warren and biden. >> yeah. >> stephen: because he's dipped a bit in the polls, from the 30s to the mid-20s.

>> and she's going up. >> stephen: she keeps coming up. this is the time of year you don't want to be doing that. you want to be coming up. >> they've been tangling for 20 years. >> stephen: she's come after him for his connections to corporations and things like that? >> there's great senate-- what a nerd. there was great senate testimony -- >> stephen: i heard about that senate testimony, dog! that was dope senate testimony! i'm just helping you make fun of yourself. that's what i'm doing. >> just caught myself. i actually say things like this, "there's that great senate testimony." >> stephen: but they didn't really go after each other. >> tonight, no, no. >> stephen: maybe him toward her more than her toward him. ea h, u know, "how are you going to pay for all this?" there was more standoff between sanders and biden-- warren doesn't like to attack people. when she does-- like remember when she went after delaney? she said, "i don't know why all these people are running for

president to tell us what they don't want to do or can't do," or whatever and it was like a clean cut, he was bleeding. >> stephen: sure, sure. i don't remember his name at this point. >> he's still running! >> stephen: he is? >> yeah, sure. >> stephen: he's still running? >> john delaney, absolutely. >> stephen: he did great tonight. ( laughter ) let's talk about how people lump warren and sanders together. >> they do share a lot of the same policy views when it comes to medicare for all and the green new deal. >> stephen: he's a democratic socialist. >> yeah. >> stephen: biden even went like, "well, i'm not a socialist over here" to bernie tonight. she calls herself-- i think she calls it "a managed capitalist," or "a regulated capitalist." >> she has a different term for it. >> stephen: do you think they differ about it? >> i think they're different in terms of how they are as politicians. i don't think they're different in what they believe in. >> stephen: is it like "the highlander."

there can be only one? is one person going to drop out and it will be one person against biden? >> i have a hard time imagining any of those three dropping out. i think they're going to go all the way to the end. i'm not very good at predictions so don't believe anything i say. in the same way hillary clinton stayed in the race until the very end, even though obama was going to be the nominee, and then bernie sanders did the same thing to her. i think all three of them have a really strong case, and all three really think they will be the best president so i think they will. >> stephen: what would you call biden's message? because to me, biden's message feels a little bit like to me, "you know how you used to feel? i am that feeling. feel me." ( laughter ). >> i don't think his message is "feel me." ( laughter ) ( cheers ) >> stephen: on that, we must go. jake, lovely to see you. "the lead with jake tapper" airs weekdays on cnn.

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( band playing ) ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: hey, everybody, welcome back. ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the live, the live "late show" after the democratic debate. my next guest is a former speech writer for obama who hosts two of the most popular podcasts in the country. from "pod save america" and "lovett or leave it," please welcome, jon lovett! ( applause ) ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ♪ >> stephen: nice to see you again. >> nice to see you. >> stephen: thank for being here live. >> yeah! >> stephen: now, you were a speech writer for... joe biden's best friend, i think history has called him. >> yeah. >> stephen: so you know what it's like to be the people backstage at a debate watching your candidate do their thing. who do you think out there had good speechwriters prepping them?

who had good communications people out there? who impressed you? >> so... there have been bad debates that left you feeling really sad. ( laughter ) >> stephen: sure. >> but this wasn't one of them. and i thought for the most part, each candidate kind of demonstrated why they're in the race. i think no one is better than elizabeth warren at connecting an answer to a deeper philosophy for why she's running. i thought beto's answers on guns was incredibly powerful. cory booker is outstanding at taking an important policy debate and rooting it in emotion and pain, which the country is going through. so look, i'm just so proud of all of them. i just think they all did so good! >> stephen: okay. >> except for the part where julian castro kept saying to biden, "why are you hitting yourself? why are you hitting yourself?" >> stephen: are there any lines tonight you said, "i could have written that." or "i wish i had written that." >> there are few lines i believe i couldn't have written.

>> stephen: there must be times when you said, "oh, god! oh, no, don't say that." >> there were some rough jokes. you know, you pointed out that the person behind the curtain is the wizard of oz, which is-- ( laughter ) there he is. and it's worth-- it's worth noting something about this person. the point of the wizard of oz is not that the man behind the curtain is short. the point of the wizard of oz is that the man behind the curtain is not a wizard! ( cheers and applause ) listen-- listen -- >> stephen: are you offended because you're a wizard? itof looksnald aook at him.ph ks trump? >> it's a great metaphor. trump is tall! half of all voters -- >> stephen: pay attention-- what, half of all voters are short? >> they're shorter than average.

by def-- right, right? >> stephen: i guess so. i guess so. >> i'm just saying. i'm just saying. i know she didn't mean it. i hope she doesn't have to apologize. >> stephen: biden is the front- runner. and i thought he had a pretty good showing tonight. >> yeah. >> stephen: anything more you want to say about the guy you used to work with for eight years? come on! biden! obama! i can't tell them apart anymore! jabarack obiden they're the same guy. why no love from the obama camp for joe? >> i think there's an incredible amount of love. >> stephen: how about support publicly? >> well, that's a different thing. but the-- no, no. i think there's an incredible love for joe biden. but there are people who worked for obama who support biden, they support warren, they support michael bennet-- r.i.p. there are all kinds of people-- he's still alive. he just didn't make the debate! calm down. no, but, look, i think we see-- whenever-- this was a good night for joe biden. but with joe biden i think we see the good and the bad. i think there were answers that

were strong. i think he did better than before. >> stephen: he had a lot of facts and figures at his fingertips, he fought back well. >> and there are remarks that are halting and hard to follow. i think a lot of people prone to support joe biden underestimate joe biden. it's not just name recognition. it's not that he worked for barack obama. he is somebody whose candidacy and career is rooted in genuine loss and pain that i think is relevant to a lot of people, that reminds people why they like joe biden. i think when he gets attacked, when he gets maligned, when people sneer at him, i think they underestimate his strength and there's a reason he remains on top. >> stephen: there's a new poll from abc news/"washington post" tcby, has trump losing to the top five democrats. obviously, we're all scared from misleading polls from 2016. as somebody who, again, has been there intimately and seen the internal polling on campaigns, can we trust polls at all? >> yes, but don't. >> stephen: you heard him. five people--

>> that was confusing. i'll explain it! >> stephen: five people are going to beat trump! >> here's the thing-- i get why we're all looking at polls. our brains are profoundly broken. we are-- we are drowning in political coverage. we want this nightmare to end. we want someone to give us certainty. just tell me. please, tell me that it's going to be over soon! and so you click up -- >> stephen: yes. >> you click up your little polls and they say, "it's going to be over soon." but the only way it's going to be over is if we do our part to make it over. and one of the lessons of 2016 is spend a little less time worrying about what you expect to happen and worry a little bit more about what you can do to make what you want to happen, ( cheers and applause ) >> stephen: thank you for being here, jon. >> thank you. >> stephen: "lovett or leave it" is live at radio city music hall tomorrow, and you can listen to new episodes every saturday. jon

>> stephen: good night! captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org ♪ are you ready y'all to have some fun ♪ feel the love tonight don't you worry ♪ where it is you come from it'll be all right ♪ it's the late, late show >> reggie: ladies and gentlemen, all the way from inside the