On Tuesday night, America sat rapt as a horde of Democratic primary candidates took the stage for the second round of debates. The top dogs of the night were unquestionably Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who took turns pummeling their onstage rivals—taking especially long shots John Delaney and Tim Ryan. Both Sanders and Warren also scolded their moderators for echoing Republican talking points while posing policy questions—and although late-night hosts avoided weighing in on that subject, they did seem to agree that CNN’s moderation could have been better.

“Can you imagine these guys moderating the Lincoln-Douglas debates?” Stephen Colbert quipped during his live Late Show monologue later that night. “‘A house divided against itself cannot—’ ‘Thank you, Mr. Lincoln.… I’ve got to give some time to a fence post.’”

Colbert seemed to relish the way both Sanders and Warren took on their challengers. He cheered the moment Sanders snapped “I wrote the damn bill!” at Ryan, who initially claimed Sanders didn’t really know if his Medicare for All plan would provide dental care, hearing aids, and glasses to senior citizens. “It’s a good thing you get dental care, Tim,” Colbert said in best Bernie Sanders voice. “Because I just slapped the teeth out of your dirty mouth!”

As for the moment when John Delaney chided Sanders by saying, “His math is wrong; that’s all I’m saying”? “I’m not sure the guy polling below 1% should be talking about math right now,” Colbert said.

Colbert was equally impressed with Warren, who got her own shot in at Delaney when she said, “I don’t know why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for.”