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Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an ableist slur and portrayed as unconvincing attempts to alleviate public concerns about his cognitive health.

Jon Stewart's Pointed Commentary

Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with a widely condemned ableist term. "On the holiday?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with your own personal grievance airing day?"

When questioned by reporters if he felt any remorse, Trump reportedly doubled down, insisting there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic governor.

"Something wrong with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You were sitting 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 comedian then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently disclosed medical scan. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took a cognitive test."

"That is an impossibility," Stewart countered. "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 continued, "For God’s sakes, 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, ‘What a loud 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 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 remarked, referencing anger about building a gilded event space over addressing economic issues.

"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president also used the ableist slur against Governor Walz.

After Walz challenged him to "Make the scan public," Trump promised 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 suggested.

He then poked fun at the subsequent White House justification—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert said. "People his age also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"

Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment

Jimmy Kimmel likewise condemned Trump's use of the slur. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "I wonder why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It defies all logic."

Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "another bold statement from the president of the eighth grade."

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

The host finished by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned former Honduran president. "Critics have noted the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs 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 perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."