🔗 Share this article

Comedy show hosts recently trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a derogatory term and what they described as unconvincing attempts to address growing questions 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 with a widely condemned ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"

When asked later if he felt any remorse, Trump is said to have doubled down, insisting there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.

"Something wrong 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 MRI. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking 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? ‘No no no, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’"

He added, "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 "flawless result" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he quipped. "It's either a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘We need to talk.’"

Stephen Colbert's Witty Observations

On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he said, referencing anger about funding a luxury ballroom over addressing economic issues.

"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, referring 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 responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would release them, 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 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 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 follow-up comment 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 higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."

The host finished by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while at the same time freeing 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 perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Commitments stated, promises kept."