The Daily Show host on Trump's Claim of Not Knowing Regarding His Personal MRI: 'That’s Not Physically Possible'.
Comedy show hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to address growing questions about his mental fitness.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have intensified his attack, stating there was "a genuine problem" with the governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, belly 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 host then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed medical scan. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took a cognitive test."
"That is an impossibility," Stewart countered. "Being completely unaware, it’s not possible. What could you possibly 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 30 to 45 minutes, 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 assertion 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 Witty Observations
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 funding a luxury ballroom over addressing economic issues.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised release them, despite his claimed ignorance of what was scanned.
"Uh, here’s a theory: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert suggested.
He then poked fun at the subsequent official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel likewise blasted Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being 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: "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 survey data showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump tough on drugs in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Relax!"
"When he was running, Trump made it very clear: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he added. "Commitments stated, promises kept."