Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an ableist slur and portrayed as feeble efforts to address growing questions about his cognitive health.
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive ableist term. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, stating there was "a genuine problem" with the governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your notorious associates, 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 revealed MRI. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "aced 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 MRI reveal party.’"
He continued, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not the least bit interested? When they placed you 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 assertion of a "flawless result" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he joked. "You either get a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘See me.’"
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he said, citing anger about building a gilded event space over addressing affordability concerns.
"Elsewhere, 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 recapped, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would release them, 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 suggested.
He then poked fun at the subsequent White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert conceded. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Jimmy Kimmel likewise condemned Trump's choice of words. "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 makes no sense."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of unprecedented approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, pointing to survey data showing significant disapproval. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs elsewhere, 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? Lighten up!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it very clear: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he summarized. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."
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