Jon Stewart on Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware About His Own MRI: 'It's An Impossibility'.
Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a 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 inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"
When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have intensified his attack, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, enveloped in 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 addressed Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently disclosed medical scan. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, 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’s not physically possible," 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 MRI reveal party.’"
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, ‘What a loud tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's assertion of a "flawless result" 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, ‘We need to talk.’"
Stephen Colbert's Satirical Take
On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump treats them like livestock," he said, citing criticism over funding a gilded event space over addressing economic issues.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president also used the ableist slur against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would release them, despite his stated unawareness 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 poked fun at the follow-up official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he remarked sarcastically. "I wonder why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It makes no sense."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's insistence of unprecedented approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting polling showing significant disapproval. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host finished by criticizing 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 simultaneously pardoning 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 top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Promises made, pledges fulfilled."
