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Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on former President Donald Trump, criticizing his use of an derogatory term and portrayed as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his mental fitness.

Jon Stewart's Scathing Critique

Beginning his monologue, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"

When asked later if he regretted the remark, Trump reportedly doubled down, stating there was "something seriously wrong" with the governor.

"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart retorted. "You sat with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach 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 turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently disclosed MRI. In an effort to downplay worries, Trump stated he had "zero knowledge" what part of his body was examined, remarking it "wasn’t the brain" because he "took 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 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, ‘This is a noisy tanning bed’?"

Stewart also mocked Trump's boast of a "perfect score" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he quipped. "It's either a big stamp, ‘Perfect,’ or you get in red ink, ‘See me.’"

Stephen Colbert's Witty Observations

On his own program, Stephen Colbert pointed out increasing frustration among some former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," 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 noted, referring to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst all of that nonsense," he summarized, the president employed the ableist slur against Governor Walz.

After Walz responded to "Make the scan public," Trump promised do so, despite his stated unawareness 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 noted.

He then poked fun at the subsequent official explanation—a doctor's letter stating the MRI was for routine evaluation. "Alright, that's reasonable," Colbert conceded. "Men in his age group also benefit from retiring, so … can we write that prescription next?"

Jimmy Kimmel's Direct Criticism

Jimmy Kimmel also condemned Trump's choice of words. "Look, he is capable of being 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 is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was blunt: "yet another profound insight from the president of the middle school."

Kimmel also addressed Trump's insistence of unprecedented approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, noting 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 finished by highlighting Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned international drug trafficker. "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. "Such individuals are just haters and losers, you know? Relax!"

"During his campaign, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he added. "Commitments stated, pledges fulfilled."