The Daily Show host on Trump's Claim of Being Unaware Regarding His Own MRI: 'That’s Not Physically Possible'.
Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a derogatory term and what they described as feeble efforts to alleviate public concerns about his cognitive health.
Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have doubled down, stating there was "a genuine problem" with the governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, enveloped in the love of your extended crime family, but your initial instinct was to post an insult at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The host then addressed Trump's peculiar account of a recently revealed medical scan. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "took a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "To have no idea, it’s not possible. What could you possibly say to the doctor? ‘No no no, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’"
He continued, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not the least bit interested? 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, ‘What a loud tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's boast of a "perfect score" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he quipped. "It's either a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘We need to talk.’"
Stephen Colbert's Witty Observations
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out growing discontent among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he said, referencing anger about building a gilded event space over addressing affordability concerns.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding 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 responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised do so, 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 suggested.
He then mocked the subsequent official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's choice of words. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he remarked sarcastically. "It's puzzling why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It defies all logic."
Regarding Trump's follow-up comment that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's claims of unprecedented 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 higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host finished by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it very clear: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to host formal dances," he added. "Commitments stated, promises kept."