🔗 Share this article

Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an derogatory term and what they described as unconvincing attempts to alleviate public concerns about his mental fitness.

The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary

Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"

When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the Democratic governor.

"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your extended crime family, 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 revealed medical scan. In an attempt to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."

"That’s not physically possible," 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 scan unveiling celebration.’"

He continued, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not curious at all? 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 assertion 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, ‘We need to talk.’"

The Late Show's Witty Observations

On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out growing discontent among some former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he remarked, referencing criticism over building a gilded event space over tackling affordability concerns.

"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Somewhere in 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 promised do so, despite his claimed ignorance 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 poked fun at the subsequent White House justification—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription 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. "I wonder why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It defies all logic."

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 middle school."

Kimmel also touched on Trump's claims of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting survey data showing significant disapproval. "You can find 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. "Critics have noted the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"

"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to ballroom dance," he added. "Commitments stated, promises kept."