🔗 Share this article

Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an derogatory term and portrayed as feeble efforts to alleviate public concerns about his cognitive health.

Jon Stewart's Pointed Commentary

Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"

When asked later if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly doubled down, 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, stomach full of turkey and pie, enveloped in the love of your notorious associates, but your initial instinct was to Truth a slur at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"

The host then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently disclosed MRI. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed 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 is an impossibility," Stewart shot back. "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 scan unveiling celebration.’"

He added, "Good grief, man, were you not curious at all? When they laid you down 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 assertion of a "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he quipped. "It's either 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 highlighted increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he remarked, citing anger about funding a luxury ballroom over tackling 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 also used the ableist slur against Governor Walz.

After Walz responded to "Make the scan public," Trump said he would do so, despite his claimed ignorance of what was scanned.

"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert noted.

He then mocked the subsequent official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"

Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment

Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's use of the slur. "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: "yet another profound insight from the president of the middle school."

Kimmel also addressed Trump's claims of unprecedented approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting survey data showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."

The host finished by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just haters and losers, you know? Lighten up!"

"When he was running, Trump made it very clear: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) constructing a venue to ballroom dance," he added. "Commitments stated, promises kept."