Jon Stewart on Trump's Assertion of Not Knowing About His Own MRI: 'That’s Not Physically Possible'.
Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to alleviate public concerns about his cognitive health.
Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the Democratic governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "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 host then addressed Trump's peculiar account of a recently disclosed MRI. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed 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 is an impossibility," Stewart shot back. "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, "Good grief, 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 assertion of a "perfect score" on the scan. "That’s how 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 pointed out growing discontent among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he said, citing criticism over building a gilded event space over tackling affordability concerns.
"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised 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 poked fun at the follow-up official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "Alright, that's reasonable," 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 likewise condemned 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 makes no sense."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's claims of unprecedented approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting polling showing significant disapproval. "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 imprisoned former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump tough on drugs elsewhere, while simultaneously pardoning a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just haters and losers, you know? Relax!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it very clear: 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."