The Daily Show host on Trump's Assertion of Not Knowing Regarding His Own MRI: 'That’s An Impossibility'.
Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to address growing questions about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned ableist term. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, insisting there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your notorious associates, but your first thought was to post an insult at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The comedian then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed MRI. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "took a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "Being completely unaware, it’s not possible. What would you say to the doctor? ‘Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my scan unveiling celebration.’"
He added, "Good grief, man, were you not curious at all? When they placed you in a tube for a half an hour, you didn’t want to know what they might be doing? Or did you just think to yourself, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's boast of a "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he quipped. "You either get a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘We need to talk.’"
The Late Show's Witty Observations
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he remarked, citing anger about building a gilded event space over addressing economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president employed the ableist slur against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Make the scan public," Trump said he would release them, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.
"Uh, here’s a theory: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert noted.
He then mocked the subsequent White House justification—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's use of the slur. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "I wonder why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It defies all logic."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, pointing to polling showing significant disapproval. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host finished by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who shipped a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Relax!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he summarized. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."