The Daily Show host on Donald Trump's Claim of Not Knowing Regarding His Personal MRI: 'That’s Not Physically Possible'.
Comedy show hosts this week trained their comedic fire 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 mental fitness.
The Daily Show's Scathing Critique
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a widely condemned ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"
When asked later if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the Democratic governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "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 post an insult 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 "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "To have no idea, it’s not possible. What would you say to the doctor? ‘No no no, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’"
He added, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not curious at all? 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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"
Stewart further ridiculed Trump's assertion 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.’"
The Late Show's Witty Observations
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out growing discontent among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he remarked, citing anger about building a gilded event space over addressing affordability concerns.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president employed the ableist slur against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised do so, despite his stated unawareness 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 mocked the follow-up White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert conceded. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's choice of words. "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 makes no sense."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, noting survey data showing high negative ratings. "There are 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. "Critics have noted the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while at the same time freeing a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just haters and losers, 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 ballroom dance," he summarized. "Promises made, pledges fulfilled."