The Daily Show host on Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware About His Own MRI: 'That’s An Impossibility'.
Comedy show hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a derogatory term and what they described as unconvincing attempts to alleviate public concerns about his mental fitness.
The Daily Show'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 highly offensive slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "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, stating there was "a genuine problem" with the governor.
"The issue is 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 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 bizarre explanation of a recently disclosed MRI. 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. "To have no idea, 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 continued, "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, ‘What a loud tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's boast of a "perfect score" 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 pointed out increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he said, referencing anger about 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 "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would 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 noted.
He then mocked the subsequent White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also 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 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 middle school."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting 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 criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted former Honduran president. "Critics have noted the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) constructing a venue to ballroom dance," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."