Jon Stewart on Donald Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware About His Personal MRI: 'It's Not Physically Possible'.
Comedy show hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an derogatory term and what they described as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart focused on a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the Democratic governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, enveloped in 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 host then turned to Trump's peculiar account of a recently revealed MRI. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "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 continued, "Good grief, man, were you not the least bit interested? 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 "flawless result" 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 pointed out growing discontent among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he remarked, referencing anger about funding a gilded event space over addressing economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert noted, alluding to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president also used the ableist slur against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Make the scan public," Trump said he would 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 poked fun at the subsequent White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert conceded. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel likewise condemned Trump's choice of words. "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’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "another bold statement from the president of the middle school."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's claims of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, pointing to survey data showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs elsewhere, while at the same time freeing a man who shipped a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"
"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) constructing a venue to ballroom dance," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."