🔗 Share this article

Comedy show hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an ableist slur and portrayed as feeble efforts to address growing questions about his mental fitness.

Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique

Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Are you confusing that with your own personal grievance airing day?"

When questioned by reporters 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 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 disclosed 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 "took a cognitive test."

"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "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 scan unveiling celebration.’"

He continued, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not curious at all? When they placed you 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 further ridiculed Trump's assertion of a "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he joked. "It's either 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 treats them like meat animals," he remarked, citing anger about funding 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 summarized, the president employed the ableist slur against Governor Walz.

After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would release them, despite his claimed ignorance of what was scanned.

"Uh, here’s a theory: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert suggested.

He then mocked the subsequent official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "OK, fair enough," 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 also condemned Trump's use of the slur. "See, he can be 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 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 touched on Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting polling 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 convicted international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just haters and losers, you know? Relax!"

"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."