The Daily Show host on Donald Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware About His Own MRI: 'It's An Impossibility'.
Comedy show hosts this week directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an ableist slur 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 described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "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 Truth a slur at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The host then addressed Trump's peculiar account of a recently disclosed medical scan. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump stated he had "no idea" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "Being completely unaware, it’s not possible. What would you say to the doctor? ‘Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my scan unveiling celebration.’"
He added, "For God’s sakes, 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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's assertion of a "perfect score" 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, ‘See me.’"
Stephen Colbert's Satirical Take
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 said, citing anger about funding a gilded event space over tackling affordability concerns.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring 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 "Release the MRI results," Trump promised do so, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s broken is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert noted.
He then poked fun at the follow-up official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert conceded. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's use of the slur. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he remarked sarcastically. "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: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, pointing to survey data showing significant disapproval. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted 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 haters and losers, you know? Lighten up!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he added. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."