Donald Trump’s MRI claim has late-night TV in disbelief — and Jon Stewart isn’t holding back.
When Donald Trump declared he had “no idea” what body part doctors scanned in his recent MRI, Jon Stewart could hardly believe it. The comedian, returning to the anchor desk after Thanksgiving, called the statement “not physically possible,” kicking off a wave of late-night ridicule aimed squarely at Trump’s health comments and his use of an ableist slur over the holiday weekend. But here’s where things got especially heated — it wasn’t just the absurdity of the MRI remark that stunned people; it was the timing and tone of his online insult that really lit up the airwaves.
Jon Stewart
As families were wrapping up their Thanksgiving dinners, Stewart noted that Trump decided to hop on Truth Social and refer to Minnesota’s Governor Tim Walz — Kamala Harris’s former running mate — as “seriously retarded.” Stewart was floored: “On Thanksgiving?! Are you mixing that up with Festivus?” he joked, pointing out the hypocrisy of lobbing slurs while surrounded by family warmth and pumpkin pie.
When reporters later asked Trump if he regretted his comment, he doubled down, insisting there was “something seriously wrong” with Walz. That was the line that pushed Stewart over the edge: “You were sitting there on Thanksgiving, full of turkey and surrounded by your extended crime family — and Walz is the one with something wrong with him?” he shot back, incredulous.
Stewart imagined the White House press pool enduring this circus at Mar-a-Lago all weekend, only to chase Trump’s contradictory answers back on Air Force One. And then came the kicker — Trump’s bizarre claim that he didn’t even know what his MRI was for: “It wasn’t the brain,” Trump said, “because I took a cognitive test, and I aced it.” Stewart deadpanned, “That’s not how MRIs work. What’s next — an MRI reveal party?” He then mocked the former president’s additional claim of having received a “perfect score,” joking, “Right — because that’s how MRIs are graded: ‘Perfect,’ or in red ink, ‘See me after class.’”
Stephen Colbert
Over on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert jumped in with his own take — and he didn’t hold back. “Some MAGA supporters are finally realizing Trump sees them as livestock,” Colbert said, referencing a Daily Beast interview in which former loyalists griped that the ex-president was building a gilded ballroom instead of addressing real economic issues. “But hey,” Colbert smirked, “that ballroom’s purpose is to serve the poor — and they’ll be delicious.”
Colbert then shredded Trump’s Thanksgiving rant on Truth Social, where he attacked Minnesota’s immigration policy and hurled another ableist insult at Walz. The governor’s sharp response — ‘Release the MRI results’ — prompted Trump to promise transparency while admitting he didn’t even know what part of his body had been scanned. Colbert’s response? “Maybe the broken part is the part that’s supposed to know.”
Later that day, the White House attempted cleanup duty, circulating a letter from Trump’s doctor claiming the MRI was standard for evaluating cardiovascular and abdominal health. Colbert was unimpressed: “Sure, that’s fair. But you know what else men his age benefit from? Retiring. Can we get that prescription filled next?”
Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel also weighed in, sarcastically calling Trump’s slur “a very presidential moment.” With dry humor, he wondered why such statesmanship hadn’t earned Trump a Nobel Peace Prize. When Trump followed up by saying Walz had “something wrong with him,” Kimmel quipped, “Ah yes, yet another bold statement from the president of eighth grade.”
Kimmel then mocked Trump’s self-congratulatory talk about his supposedly high approval numbers. “Right,” Kimmel said. “Because at 60% negative, there are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better ratings than that.” The host also skewered Trump for promising to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who is serving 45 years in prison for trafficking vast quantities of cocaine into the U.S. “So he’s blowing up boats of minor smugglers while promising to pardon a kingpin?” Kimmel asked, laughing. “Consistency has never been his strong suit.”
“Then again,” Kimmel added, “he did keep his campaign promises — pardon the drug lords, and build a space for ballroom dancing. Promises made, promises kept.”
Controversy check: Some see the late-night takedowns as much-needed accountability; others argue comedians are stoking division by mocking Trump’s age and health. But here’s the question — when public figures use language considered ableist or make unverifiable claims about their fitness for office, where’s the line between comedy and commentary? Should late-night hosts keep pushing, or have they gone too far?
