🔗 Share this article

Comedy show hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, criticizing his employment of a ableist slur and portrayed as feeble efforts to alleviate growing questions about his mental fitness.

The Daily Show's Scathing Critique

Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"

When questioned by reporters if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the Democratic governor.

"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your extended crime family, but your first thought was to Truth a slur 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 attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump stated he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took a cognitive test."

"That’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "To have no idea, 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 the least bit interested? When they placed you 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 boast 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 pointed out increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump views them like livestock," he said, citing anger about building a luxury ballroom over addressing economic issues.

"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, alluding to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, 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.

"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert noted.

He then poked fun at the subsequent White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert conceded. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"

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 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 direct: "another bold statement from the president of the middle school."

Kimmel also addressed Trump's claims of record-high approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, pointing to polling showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."

The host finished by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted former Honduran president. "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 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 top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."