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Late-night television hosts this week trained their comedic fire on ex-President Donald Trump, criticizing his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as unconvincing attempts to address public concerns about his mental fitness.

The Daily Show's Scathing Critique

Kicking off the week, Jon Stewart focused on a inflammatory Truth Social message in which Trump described Minnesota Governor Tim Walz using a highly offensive slur. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart remarked. "Are you confusing that with your own personal grievance airing day?"

When asked later 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 sat with your family at Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, enveloped in the love of your extended crime family, but your initial instinct was to Truth a slur at Tim Walz? And there’s something wrong with him?"

The host then addressed Trump's peculiar account 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, suggesting it "wasn’t the brain" because he "aced a cognitive test."

"That’s not physically possible," Stewart shot back. "Being completely unaware, it’s not possible. What could you possibly say to the doctor? ‘No no no, 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, ‘What a loud tanning bed’?"

Stewart further ridiculed Trump's assertion of a "perfect score" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he joked. "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 former supporters. "Certain supporters are starting to notice that Trump views them like meat animals," he said, referencing anger about building a luxury ballroom over addressing economic issues.

"In other news, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert noted, alluding 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 "Release the MRI results," Trump promised release them, despite his claimed ignorance of what was scanned.

"Well, here's an idea: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert suggested.

He then mocked the follow-up White House justification—a doctor's letter 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 Direct Criticism

Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's use of the slur. "Look, he is capable of being 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: "yet another profound insight from the president of the eighth grade."

Kimmel also addressed Trump's claims of record-high approval ratings. "This indicates it’s not just books he can’t read," Kimmel remarked, pointing to polling showing significant disapproval. "You can find gas station bathrooms on Yelp with higher approval ratings than Donald Trump right now."

The host finished by criticizing Trump's promise to grant clemency to a imprisoned former Honduran president. "Critics have noted the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump tough on drugs in one instance, while simultaneously pardoning a man who sent a million pounds of cocaine to this country," said Kimmel. "But those people are just haters and losers, you know? Lighten up!"

"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his key goals were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) building a place to ballroom dance," he added. "Promises made, promises kept."