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Late-night television hosts this week directed their focus on ex-President Donald Trump, lambasting his employment of a ableist slur and what they described as feeble efforts to alleviate 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 highly offensive ableist term. "On Thanksgiving?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Did you mix it up with Festivus?"

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

"The issue is with him? With him?" Stewart responded. "You were sitting with your family at Thanksgiving, stomach full of turkey and pie, surrounded by 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 host then turned to Trump's bizarre explanation of a recently revealed medical scan. In an attempt 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 "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? ‘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 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 further ridiculed Trump's boast of a "flawless result" on the scan. "That’s how they score the MRIs," he quipped. "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 former supporters. "Maga folks are starting to notice that Trump treats them like livestock," he said, citing criticism over funding a gilded event space over tackling affordability concerns.

"Elsewhere, Trump celebrated Thanksgiving in his customary fashion – with racism," Colbert quipped, alluding to an anti-immigrant rant from the weekend. "Amidst 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 stated unawareness of what was scanned.

"Uh, here’s a theory: maybe the part that’s malfunctioning is the part that’s supposed to know," Colbert suggested.

He then mocked the subsequent 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 get that ordered next?"

Kimmel's Direct Criticism

Jimmy Kimmel also blasted Trump's use of the slur. "See, he can be presidential when he wants to be!" he joked. "I wonder why he didn’t get that Nobel peace prize. It makes no sense."

Regarding Trump's subsequent statement that he thinks "there is a problem" with Walz, Kimmel was direct: "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, pointing to polling showing high negative ratings. "There are gas station bathrooms on Yelp with better reviews than Donald Trump right now."

The host concluded by criticizing Trump's pledge to pardon a convicted former Honduran president. "Now some have pointed out the unbelievable hypocrisy of Trump taking a hard line elsewhere, 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!"

"When he was running, Trump made it perfectly obvious: his top priorities were a) granting clemency to cartel leaders and b) constructing a venue to host formal dances," he added. "Promises made, pledges fulfilled."