The Daily Show host on Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware About His Personal MRI: 'It's Not Physically Possible'.
Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an ableist slur and portrayed as feeble efforts to address public concerns about his mental fitness.
Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive 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 reportedly intensified his attack, insisting there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your extended crime family, but your initial instinct was to Truth a slur at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The comedian then turned to Trump's peculiar account of a recently revealed MRI. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, suggesting it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "Being completely unaware, it’s not possible. What could you possibly say to the doctor? ‘Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my scan unveiling celebration.’"
He continued, "Good grief, man, were you not the least bit interested? When they laid you down in a tube for 30 to 45 minutes, 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 boast of a "flawless result" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he quipped. "It's either a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘See me.’"
The Late Show's Satirical Take
On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump views them like livestock," he remarked, referencing criticism over building a luxury ballroom over tackling economic issues.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Make the scan public," Trump said he would release them, despite his claimed ignorance of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert suggested.
He then poked fun at the subsequent official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel likewise blasted Trump's use of the slur. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he remarked sarcastically. "I wonder 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: "yet another profound insight 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, noting 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 promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned former Honduran president. "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 detractors, you know? Lighten up!"
"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."