Jon Stewart on Donald Trump's Assertion of Not Knowing About His Own MRI: 'It's Not Physically Possible'.
Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Scathing Critique
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned ableist term. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When asked later if he felt any remorse, Trump is said to have intensified his attack, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"Something wrong 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 initial instinct was to post an insult at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The comedian then turned to Trump's peculiar account of a recently disclosed medical scan. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "couldn't have been his 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? ‘Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my scan unveiling celebration.’"
He added, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not the least bit interested? When they placed you 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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's boast of a "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he joked. "You either get a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘We need to talk.’"
The Late Show's Satirical Take
On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like livestock," he said, referencing anger about funding a gilded event space over addressing economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert noted, alluding to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed the ableist slur against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would do so, despite his claimed ignorance of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s broken is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert noted.
He then mocked the follow-up White House justification—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?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's use of the slur. "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 makes no sense."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of unprecedented approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, pointing to survey data showing significant disapproval. "You can find 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 former Honduran president. "Critics have noted the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while simultaneously pardoning a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"
"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 summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."