Jon Stewart on Donald Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware About His Personal MRI: 'It's An Impossibility'.
Comedy show hosts this week directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an derogatory term and what they described as unconvincing attempts to alleviate growing questions about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Scathing Critique
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly doubled down, 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, stomach 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 bizarre explanation of a recently disclosed medical scan. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "took a cognitive test."
"That is an impossibility," Stewart countered. "Being completely unaware, 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 scan unveiling celebration.’"
He added, "Good grief, man, were you not the least bit interested? When they placed you 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 boast of a "perfect score" 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 Satirical Take
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like livestock," he remarked, citing anger about building a gilded event space over tackling economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed the ableist slur against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Make the scan public," 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 meant to retain that information," Colbert noted.
He then poked fun at the follow-up official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "Alright, that's reasonable," 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 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 defies all logic."
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 unprecedented approval ratings. "Which means 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. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs 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 perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."