Jon Stewart on Trump's Claim of Not Knowing About His Personal MRI: 'That’s Not Physically Possible'.

Comedy show hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an ableist slur and portrayed as feeble efforts to alleviate public concerns about his mental fitness.

Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique

Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a widely condemned slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with your own personal grievance airing day?"

When asked later if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, stating there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic governor.

"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, enveloped in the love of your notorious associates, but your first thought was to post an insult 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 even scanned, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took a cognitive test."

"That’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "To have no idea, it’s not possible. What would you 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 laid you down 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 further ridiculed 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, ‘See me.’"

The Late Show's Satirical Take

On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he remarked, referencing criticism over funding a luxury ballroom over tackling affordability concerns.

"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert noted, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.

After Walz responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised do so, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.

"Uh, here’s a theory: maybe the part that’s broken 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. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"

Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment

Jimmy Kimmel likewise blasted Trump's use of the slur. "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 follow-up comment that he thinks "there’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."

Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, noting survey data showing high negative ratings. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."

The host finished by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a convicted former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while simultaneously pardoning a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Relax!"

"During his campaign, Trump made it very clear: his key goals were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, pledges fulfilled."

Amy Becker
Amy Becker

A geopolitical analyst with over a decade of experience covering European and Middle Eastern affairs, based in Berlin.