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Comedy show hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to alleviate growing questions about his cognitive health.

The Daily Show's Scathing Critique

Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump referred to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a widely condemned slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"

When questioned by reporters if he regretted the remark, Trump is said to have doubled down, stating there was "a genuine problem" with the Democratic governor.

"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your notorious associates, 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 disclosed medical scan. In an effort to dismiss concerns, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was even scanned, suggesting it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took a cognitive test."

"That’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "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 MRI reveal party.’"

He continued, "Good grief, man, were you not the least bit interested? 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 also mocked Trump's assertion of a "flawless result" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he joked. "You either get a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘We need to talk.’"

The Late Show's Satirical Take

On his own program, Stephen Colbert highlighted increasing frustration among some one-time allies. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he remarked, citing anger about building a luxury ballroom over addressing affordability concerns.

"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Somewhere in all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president also used 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 broken is the part that’s meant to retain that information," Colbert noted.

He then poked fun at the subsequent official explanation—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 get that ordered next?"

Jimmy Kimmel's Blunt Assessment

Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being presidential when he wants to be!" he remarked sarcastically. "It's puzzling 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: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."

Kimmel also touched on Trump's insistence 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. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."

The host concluded by highlighting Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted international drug trafficker. "Critics have noted the staggering contradiction of Trump taking a hard line in one instance, while at the same time freeing a man who sent a million pounds 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 key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, pledges fulfilled."