Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, criticizing his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to alleviate growing questions about his mental fitness.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When questioned by reporters if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.
"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach 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 addressed Trump's peculiar account of a recently revealed medical scan. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "no idea" what part of his body was examined, 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? ‘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 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 also mocked 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, ‘We need to talk.’"
The Late Show's Satirical Take
On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted growing discontent among some former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he said, citing criticism over funding a luxury ballroom over tackling affordability concerns.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Make the scan public," Trump promised release them, despite his stated unawareness 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 mocked the follow-up official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's use of the slur. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "I wonder 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: "another bold statement from the president of the middle school."
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 high negative ratings. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who shipped a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Relax!"
"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. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."
