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

Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique

Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart took aim at a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to 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 reportedly intensified his attack, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.

"Something wrong 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 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 revealed MRI. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump claimed he had "no idea" what part of his body was even scanned, remarking it "couldn't have been his brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."

"That’s not physically possible," Stewart countered. "Being completely unaware, 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 scan unveiling celebration.’"

He added, "For God’s sakes, man, were you not curious at all? When they laid you down 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, ‘What a loud tanning bed’?"

Stewart also mocked Trump's assertion 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.’"

The Late Show's Witty Observations

On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out growing discontent among some former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like meat animals," he remarked, referencing anger about funding a gilded event space over tackling affordability concerns.

"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his traditional way – with racism," Colbert noted, alluding to an inflammatory post from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president also used the offensive term against Governor Walz.

After Walz challenged him to "Make the scan public," Trump promised release them, 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 poked fun at the follow-up White House justification—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 write that prescription next?"

Kimmel's Direct Criticism

Jimmy Kimmel also blasted 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 blunt: "another bold statement from the president of the middle school."

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

The host finished by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a imprisoned 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 sent a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "Such individuals are just detractors, you know? Lighten up!"

"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) pardoning drug kingpins and b) building a place to host formal dances," he summarized. "Promises made, promises kept."