Jon Stewart on Trump's Claim of Not Knowing About His Personal MRI: 'That’s An Impossibility'.
Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an derogatory term and portrayed as feeble efforts to address growing questions about his cognitive health.
Jon Stewart's Pointed Commentary
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a widely condemned slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"
When questioned by reporters if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the Democratic governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, enveloped in the love of your notorious associates, 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 revealed medical scan. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," 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 MRI reveal party.’"
He added, "Good grief, man, were you not curious at all? 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, ‘What a loud tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's boast of a "flawless result" 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.’"
Stephen Colbert's Witty Observations
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he remarked, referencing 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 inflammatory post from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Make the scan public," 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 supposed to know," Colbert suggested.
He then mocked the follow-up official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being 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 follow-up comment that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "yet another profound insight from the president of the middle school."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, pointing to survey data showing high negative ratings. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just haters and losers, you know? Lighten up!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."