--- title: Stephen Colbert Uses Dog to Interview Beto O'Rourke Ted Cruz description: Stephen Colbert tapped Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to interview Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz ahead of the election day. canonical: https://time.com/5447968/triumph-dog-ted-cruz/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-07T18:17:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:55:54.071Z og:title: Triumph the Insult Dog Interviews Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz og:description: The perfect dog for the job og:url: https://time.com/5447968/triumph-dog-ted-cruz/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5575cc42bf3ade55/69893e814ee26258433134c6/beto-orourke-ted-cruz-stephen-colbert-triumph-dog.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Democratic Candidate Beto O'Rourke Holds Election Night Event In El Paso, Texas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Triumph the Insult Dog Interviews Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz twitter:description: The perfect dog for the job twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5575cc42bf3ade55/69893e814ee26258433134c6/beto-orourke-ted-cruz-stephen-colbert-triumph-dog.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Happened When Triumph the Insult Comic Dog Interviewed Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=325fbfc4-4897-42f8-83e0-f472d2460d07&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Nov 7, 2018 6:17 PM UTC  EL PASO, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 06: U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) concedes the race while addressing a 'thank you' party on Election Day at Southwest University Park November 06, 2018 in El Paso, Texas. O'Rourke lost to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) EL PASO, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 06: U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) concedes the race while addressing a 'thank you' party on Election Day at Southwest University Park November 06, 2018 in El Paso, Texas. O'Rourke lost to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Nov 7, 2018 6:17 PM UTC [Conan O’Brien](http://time.com/5323300/colbert-fallon-last-night/) might be taking a brief break, but that doesn’t mean that his salty correspondent, [Triumph the Insult Comic Dog](http://time.com/2921309/triumph-the-insult-comic-dog-takes-on-the-world-cup/), is staying off the air. Triumph was enlisted by O’Brien’s fellow late night host, Stephen Colbert, to interview Texas Senate candidates [Beto O’Rourke](http://time.com/5447290/beto-orourke-f-word-speech/) and [Ted Cruz](http://time.com/5444357/ted-cruz-senate-midterms-results/) for _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_ ahead of Election Day. Longtime fans of Triumph will remember that the dog’s dream interview during the 2016 presidential campaign was Cruz. Triumph began at the O’Rourke gathering, where he discussed voter fraud with O’Rourke supporters before talking to Beto himself. Triumph ribbed O’Rourke for his youthful following, asking “does it concern you that half your fans think they can vote via Instagram?” but while Beto was good-natured about the exchange, he focused his responses on responsible voting. Later, Triumph’s dream finally came true when he met Cruz at a Republican rally. While the two exchanged some humorous barbs, their final conversation resulted in some memorable bon mots. “I just want to say to Triumph, my advice is walk away,” Cruz said. “Just remember, it wasn’t the Republicans, it was the Democrats who took you into the vet to get fixed.” Triumph’s response was equally sharp. “I support spaying and neutering — just like Trump did to you!” Triumph said. 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