The Daily Show host on Donald Trump's Claim of Not Knowing Regarding His Own MRI: 'That’s An Impossibility'.
Late-night television hosts recently trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his employment of a ableist slur and portrayed 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 controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When questioned by reporters if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly doubled down, insisting there was "a genuine problem" 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 first thought was to post an insult at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The comedian then addressed Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed medical scan. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took 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 MRI reveal party.’"
He added, "Good grief, 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 also mocked Trump's boast of a "flawless result" on the scan. "That’s how 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 growing discontent among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like livestock," he remarked, citing criticism over building a luxury ballroom over tackling affordability concerns.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed the ableist slur against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would do so, despite his claimed ignorance 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 mocked the subsequent White House justification—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel likewise blasted Trump's use of the slur. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "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 is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's claims of record-high approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, pointing to polling showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host finished by highlighting 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 simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"
"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to ballroom dance," he added. "Promises made, pledges fulfilled."