The Daily Show host on Donald Trump's Claim of Being Unaware Regarding His Own MRI: 'That’s Not Physically Possible'.
Comedy show hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to alleviate growing questions about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show'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 widely condemned ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly doubled down, insisting there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, enveloped in 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 addressed Trump's peculiar account of a recently revealed 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 "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 continued, "Good grief, 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 also mocked Trump's assertion of a "flawless result" 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 highlighted increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he remarked, referencing anger about building a luxury ballroom over addressing economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Make the scan public," Trump said he would do so, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s broken is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert noted.
He then poked fun at the subsequent White House justification—a medical note stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being 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’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "yet another profound insight from the president of the middle school."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of unprecedented approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, noting polling showing high negative ratings. "There are 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. "Critics have noted the staggering contradiction of Trump tough on drugs in one instance, while simultaneously pardoning a man who sent a massive quantity 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 key goals were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he added. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."