The Daily Show host on Trump's Claim of Not Knowing About His Own MRI: 'That’s Not Physically Possible'.
Comedy show hosts this week directed their focus on former President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a derogatory term and portrayed as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his cognitive health.
The Daily Show's Pointed Commentary
Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a controversial post in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a widely condemned slur. "On the holiday?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"
When questioned by reporters if he felt any remorse, Trump is said to have doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the Democratic governor.
"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by 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 "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."
"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "To have no idea, it’s not possible. What would you say to the doctor? ‘No no no, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’"
He continued, "Good grief, man, were you not curious at all? 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 also mocked Trump's boast of a "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he quipped. "It's either 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 pointed out growing discontent among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he said, citing criticism over building a gilded event space over addressing economic issues.
"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert noted, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.
After Walz challenged him to "Release the MRI results," Trump said he would release them, 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 mocked the subsequent White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"
Jimmy Kimmel's Direct Criticism
Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "It's puzzling why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It makes no sense."
Regarding Trump's follow-up comment that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."
Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of unprecedented approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel said, noting polling showing significant disapproval. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."
The host concluded by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, while at the same time freeing a man who sent a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just haters and losers, you know? Lighten up!"
"When he was running, Trump made it very clear: his key goals were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he summarized. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."
