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Late-night television hosts recently directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as unconvincing attempts to alleviate public concerns about his mental fitness.

The Daily Show's Scathing Critique

Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned ableist term. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"

When asked later if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly doubled down, 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, surrounded by the love of your extended crime family, but your first thought was to post an insult at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"

The host then turned to Trump's peculiar account of a recently disclosed MRI. In an attempt to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "took a cognitive test."

"That is an impossibility," Stewart countered. "Being completely unaware, 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 added, "Good grief, man, were you not curious at all? 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 "perfect score" on the scan. "Apparently, that's the way they score the MRIs," he joked. "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 growing discontent among some one-time allies. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he said, citing anger about funding a luxury ballroom over tackling affordability concerns.

"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he recapped, the president employed 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.

"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 subsequent White House justification—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert conceded. "Men in his age group 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 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 addressed Trump's claims of record-high approval ratings. "Which means it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, pointing to survey data showing high negative ratings. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."

The host concluded by criticizing Trump's promise to grant clemency to a convicted international drug trafficker. "Now some have pointed out the staggering contradiction of Trump tough on drugs elsewhere, while at the same time freeing a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"

"During his campaign, Trump made it very clear: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he summarized. "Commitments stated, promises kept."