Comedy show hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his use of an derogatory term and portrayed as feeble efforts to address public concerns about his mental fitness.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"
When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, insisting 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, surrounded by the love of your notorious associates, but your first thought was to Truth a slur at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"
The comedian then turned to Trump's peculiar account of a recently revealed medical scan. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "To have no idea, it’s not possible. What could you possibly 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 also mocked Trump's boast of a "flawless result" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he joked. "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 one-time allies. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he remarked, citing criticism over funding a gilded event space over addressing affordability concerns.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president employed the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz responded to "Release the MRI results," Trump promised do so, despite his stated unawareness of what was scanned.
"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s broken 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. "OK, fair enough," Colbert conceded. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Kimmel's Blunt Assessment
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted 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 is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "another bold statement from the president of the middle school."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's claims of unprecedented approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting polling showing significant disapproval. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by criticizing Trump's promise to grant clemency to a convicted international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted 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. "But those people 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, pledges fulfilled."
