🔗 Share this article

Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an derogatory term and what they described as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.

The Daily Show's Scathing Critique

Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with your own personal grievance airing day?"

When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, stating 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 extended crime family, but your first thought was to post an insult at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"

The comedian then turned to Trump's peculiar account of a recently disclosed MRI. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."

"That is an impossibility," Stewart countered. "To have no idea, 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 curious at all? 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 "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, ‘See me.’"

Stephen Colbert's Satirical Take

On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he remarked, citing anger about building a gilded event space over tackling affordability concerns.

"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, alluding 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 responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised do so, 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 noted.

He then mocked the follow-up White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "OK, fair enough," Colbert conceded. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"

Kimmel's Direct Criticism

Jimmy Kimmel likewise condemned Trump's choice of words. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "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 addressed Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, pointing to polling showing significant disapproval. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."

The host finished by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out 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 detractors, you know? Relax!"

"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to ballroom dance," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."