Comedy show hosts recently trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and portrayed as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.
Jon Stewart'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 with a highly offensive slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have intensified his attack, stating there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic 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 comedian then addressed Trump's peculiar account of a recently disclosed MRI. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, suggesting it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "took a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "To have no idea, it’s not possible. What would you say to the doctor? ‘Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’"
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 boast of a "flawless result" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he joked. "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 growing discontent among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump treats them like livestock," he remarked, citing criticism over funding a luxury ballroom over addressing economic issues.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, alluding 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 responded to "Make the scan public," Trump promised do so, 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 suggested.
He then poked fun at the subsequent 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?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's choice of words. "See, he can be 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 subsequent statement that he thinks "there’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting polling 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 international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs elsewhere, while simultaneously pardoning a man who sent a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals 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) building a place to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."
