🔗 Share this article

Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.

Jon Stewart's Pointed Commentary

Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"

When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly intensified his attack, insisting there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic governor.

"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, enveloped in the love of your extended crime family, but your initial instinct was to Truth a slur at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"

The comedian then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently disclosed medical scan. In an effort 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 is an impossibility," 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 MRI reveal party.’"

He added, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not the least bit interested? When they laid you down 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 further ridiculed Trump's assertion of a "flawless result" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he quipped. "It's either a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘See me.’"

The Late Show's Witty Observations

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 livestock," he said, citing criticism over building a luxury ballroom over addressing economic issues.

"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – 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 "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 supposed to know," Colbert noted.

He then mocked the follow-up official explanation—a medical note 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?"

Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment

Jimmy Kimmel likewise condemned Trump's choice of words. "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 subsequent statement that he thinks "there’s something wrong" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "another bold statement from the president of the middle school."

Kimmel also touched on Trump's insistence of unprecedented approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, pointing to polling showing high negative ratings. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."

The host concluded by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Relax!"

"When he was running, Trump made it very clear: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."