The Daily Show host on Trump's Assertion of Not Knowing About His Personal MRI: 'It's An Impossibility'.
Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, criticizing his employment of a ableist slur and portrayed as unconvincing attempts to alleviate public concerns about his mental fitness.
The Daily Show's Scathing Critique
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart focused on a controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have doubled down, insisting there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, enveloped in the love of your notorious associates, but your first thought was to Truth a slur at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The host then addressed Trump's peculiar account of a recently disclosed medical scan. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump claimed 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 shot back. "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 scan unveiling celebration.’"
He continued, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not the least bit interested? When they laid you down 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 further ridiculed Trump's assertion of a "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he joked. "It's either a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘See me.’"
Stephen Colbert's Satirical Take
On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted growing discontent among some former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he remarked, citing criticism over funding a luxury ballroom over addressing affordability concerns.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert noted, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised release them, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert noted.
He then mocked the follow-up official explanation—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 write that prescription next?"
Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's use of the slur. "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 makes no sense."
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 middle school."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, pointing to polling showing high negative ratings. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host finished by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while at the same time freeing a man who sent a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just haters and losers, you know? Lighten up!"
"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he added. "Commitments stated, promises kept."
