Jon Stewart on Trump's Claim of Not Knowing Regarding His Own MRI: 'It's Not Physically Possible'.
Late-night television hosts recently trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his employment of a derogatory term and portrayed as feeble efforts to alleviate public concerns about his cognitive health.
Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a controversial post in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When asked later if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, stating 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, enveloped in 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 host then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed MRI. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump claimed 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 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 scan unveiling celebration.’"
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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"
Stewart also mocked Trump's assertion of a "flawless result" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he joked. "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 remarked, referencing anger about building a luxury ballroom over addressing affordability concerns.
"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 summarized, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would do so, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert suggested.
He then poked fun at the follow-up White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"
Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's choice of words. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "I wonder why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It makes no sense."
Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "yet another profound insight from the president of the middle school."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, pointing to polling showing significant disapproval. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host finished by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just haters and losers, 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."