Jon Stewart on Donald Trump's Assertion of Being Unaware About His Personal MRI: 'That’s An Impossibility'.
Late-night television hosts recently trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an derogatory term and portrayed as feeble efforts to alleviate public concerns about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Scathing Critique
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with your own personal grievance airing day?"
When questioned by reporters if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, insisting there was "a genuine problem" with the governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your notorious associates, but your first thought was to post an insult at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The host then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed MRI. In an attempt to downplay worries, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "couldn't have been his 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 scan unveiling celebration.’"
He continued, "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, ‘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. "You either get a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘We need to talk.’"
Stephen Colbert's Satirical Take
On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he said, citing criticism over funding a luxury ballroom over tackling economic issues.
"Elsewhere, 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 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 medical note stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's use of the slur. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he remarked sarcastically. "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’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "another bold statement from the president of the middle school."
Kimmel also touched on Trump's claims of record-high approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, noting survey data showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host finished by criticizing Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs elsewhere, while simultaneously pardoning a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Relax!"
"During his campaign, Trump made it very clear: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to ballroom dance," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."