🔗 Share this article

Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing 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

Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a widely condemned slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"

When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have intensified his attack, insisting there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic governor.

"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by 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 addressed Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed MRI. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump claimed he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, suggesting it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."

"That is an impossibility," Stewart countered. "Being completely unaware, 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, "For God’s sakes, 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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"

Stewart further ridiculed Trump's boast of a "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he quipped. "You either get a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘See me.’"

Stephen Colbert's Witty Observations

On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted growing discontent among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he said, referencing criticism over building a gilded event space over addressing affordability concerns.

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

After Walz responded to "Make the scan public," Trump said he would release them, despite his stated unawareness 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 poked fun at the subsequent official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"

Kimmel's Direct Criticism

Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "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 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, pointing to survey data showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."

The host finished by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a convicted international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump tough on drugs elsewhere, while at the same time freeing a man who sent a million pounds 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 key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."