Jon Stewart on Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware Regarding His Own MRI: 'That’s An Impossibility'.
Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an ableist slur and portrayed as feeble efforts to alleviate public concerns about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a widely condemned ableist term. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, insisting there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic governor.
"Something wrong 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 notorious associates, 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 medical scan. In an attempt to downplay worries, Trump claimed he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, suggesting it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "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 added, "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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"
Stewart further ridiculed Trump's boast of a "perfect score" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he joked. "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 former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like livestock," he said, citing anger about building a luxury ballroom over tackling economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Release the MRI results," 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 supposed to know," Colbert noted.
He then poked fun at the subsequent official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert conceded. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he remarked sarcastically. "I wonder 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 claims of record-high approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, noting survey data 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 highlighting 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 in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Relax!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it very clear: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he added. "Promises made, pledges fulfilled."