Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a derogatory term and portrayed as feeble efforts to address growing questions about his mental fitness.
Jon Stewart's Pointed Commentary
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have intensified his attack, 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, 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 turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed medical scan. In an effort to dismiss concerns, 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’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "Being completely unaware, it’s not possible. What would you say to the doctor? ‘No no no, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’"
He added, "Good grief, man, were you not curious at all? 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, ‘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 Witty Observations
On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like livestock," he remarked, referencing anger about funding a gilded event space over tackling economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert noted, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Make the scan public," 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 noted.
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. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's choice of words. "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 defies all logic."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "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 said, noting polling showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by criticizing Trump's promise to grant clemency to a convicted international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted the staggering contradiction 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. "But those people are just haters and losers, you know? Lighten up!"
"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."
