On Thursday night, following the three-hour (ugh) Democratic debate in California, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah went live.
“The truth is, the big beef tonight wasn’t between the Democrats and Donald Trump; it was between the Democrats and Pete Buttigieg, South Bend mayor and Old Young Sheldon. You can tell Buttigieg is the man to beat right now because everybody was gunning for him,” said Noah.
Yes, everyone went after the inexperienced, boyish centrist from the fourth-largest city in Indiana. And the candidate who landed the biggest blow was none other than Elizabeth Warren, enemy of the big tech behemoths, many of which are Team Pete.
“I said to anyone who wants to donate to me, if you want to donate to me, that’s fine. But don’t come around later expecting to be named ambassador,” said Warren. “The mayor just recently had a fundraiser that was held in a wine cave full of crystals and served $900-a-bottle wine. Think about who comes to that. Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States.”
Indeed, last week, Buttigieg held a ritzy fundraiser at a wine cave in Rutherford, California, owned by billionaires Craig and Kathryn Hall—under a 1,500 Swarovski-crystal chandelier, where $900-a-bottle cabernet sauvignon was served. “More than any other White House contender…Buttigieg has emerged as a favorite of the donor class, whose patronage has given him the financial might to compete well into the primary,” reported The New York Times.
Cue Noah: “Yeah, you know what? Elizabeth Warren has a great point: Buttigieg should not be holding fundraisers in wine caves. He’s not even old enough to drink. And also, what the hell is a wine cave?! Like, I don’t want a president picked that way. I want a president picked in a tequila cave. That sounds like a lot more fun. A wine cave sounds like where Batman goes to relax.”
Later, Bernie Sanders got in on the Buttigieg-bashing. “Now, there’s a real competition going on up there. My good friend Joe [Biden], and he is a good friend, he’s received contributions from 44 billionaires. Pete [Buttigieg], on the other hand, he’s trailing… you only got 39 billionaires contributing. So Pete, we look forward to you—I know you’re an energetic guy, and a competitive guy—to see if you can take Joe on that issue,” offered Sanders.
“Oh man!” exclaimed Noah. “I don’t know what it is, but whenever Bernie and Pete fight, I feel like I’m watching Back to the Future. ‘Doc, Doc! We gotta get money from big donors, Doc!’ ‘Shut up and get back to the DeLorean!’”