Jon Stewart on Trump's Claim of Not Knowing Regarding His Own MRI: 'It's Not Physically Possible'.
Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a derogatory term and portrayed as feeble efforts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.
Jon Stewart's Pointed Commentary
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive ableist term. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Are you confusing that with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly doubled down, insisting there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your notorious associates, 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 peculiar account of a recently revealed MRI. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That is an impossibility," 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 MRI reveal party.’"
He added, "For God’s sakes, 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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"
Stewart further ridiculed Trump's assertion 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, ‘See me.’"
Stephen Colbert'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, citing anger about building a gilded event space 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 also used 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 meant to retain that information," Colbert suggested.
He then mocked the follow-up official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "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 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 remarked sarcastically. "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 is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, noting survey data showing high negative ratings. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just haters and losers, you know? Relax!"
"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."