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Late-night television hosts recently trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to alleviate growing questions about his cognitive health.

Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique

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 Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with Festivus?"

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

"The issue is 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 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 addressed Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed medical scan. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump claimed he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "took a cognitive test."

"That is an impossibility," Stewart countered. "To have no idea, it’s not possible. What would you say to the doctor? ‘Wait, stop, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’"

He continued, "Good grief, man, were you not the least bit interested? 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 "flawless result" 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 one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he said, referencing criticism over funding a gilded event space over addressing affordability concerns.

"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he recapped, 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 malfunctioning is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert suggested.

He then mocked the follow-up official explanation—a medical note stating the MRI was for preventative screening. "OK, fair enough," Colbert said. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we get that ordered next?"

Kimmel's Direct Criticism

Jimmy Kimmel likewise condemned Trump's use of the slur. "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 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 high negative ratings. "There are 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 former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs in one instance, while simultaneously pardoning a man who shipped a massive quantity of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"

"When he was running, Trump made it very clear: his top priorities were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Commitments stated, promises kept."