The Daily Show host on Trump's Claim of Being Unaware About His Own MRI: 'It's Not Physically Possible'.
Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your extended crime family, but your first thought 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 disclosed MRI. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting 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 could you possibly say to the doctor? ‘Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my scan unveiling celebration.’"
He continued, "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, ‘What a loud tanning bed’?"
Stewart further ridiculed Trump's assertion of a "perfect score" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he joked. "You either get a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘See me.’"
Stephen Colbert's Witty Observations
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out growing discontent among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like livestock," he said, referencing criticism over funding a luxury ballroom over tackling economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Make the scan public," Trump promised release them, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s broken is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert noted.
He then mocked the subsequent White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "OK, fair enough," Colbert conceded. "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 choice of words. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "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’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's claims of unprecedented approval ratings. "Which means 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 concluded by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a convicted international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted the staggering contradiction 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. "Such individuals 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 summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."