In the world of late-night television, the intersection of politics and comedy has long provided fertile ground for social commentary. This dynamic was on full display as prominent hosts returned from the Thanksgiving holiday break, finding a wealth of material in recent statements made by former President Donald Trump. The monologues of Jon Stewart, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert on Monday, December 1, were dominated by two specific controversies: a disparaging social media post aimed at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and a bizarre anecdote about a recent medical scan.

The initial flashpoint occurred over the holiday weekend when Trump used his Truth Social platform to post a message attacking Governor Walz, a Democrat and former vice-presidential candidate. The post included an ableist slur, a move that immediately drew criticism for its inflammatory and offensive nature. The timing of the post, during a period traditionally associated with unity and gratitude, was not lost on the comedians who would later dissect the event.

Jon Stewart, on “The Daily Show,” dedicated a significant portion of his opening segment to the incident, expressing a mixture of outrage and disbelief. He began by highlighting the burden placed on the press corps covering the former president. “You know, the press corps had to spend the whole holiday weekend down at Mar-a-Lago listening to this brain ooze,” Stewart lamented. “And then they couldn’t even go back home by themselves. They had to fly back with this nut and ask him if he wants to clarify any of the nonsense.”

Stewart’s commentary escalated after he played a video clip of Trump speaking with reporters. In the footage, Trump was asked about the post and chose to double down on his attack. “Yeah, I think there’s something wrong with him,” the former president said of Governor Walz.

This reaffirmation left Stewart visibly exasperated. “Something wrong with him? With him?” he questioned, turning to the camera. “You were sitting with your family, Thanksgiving, belly full of turkey and pie, surrounded by the love of your extended crime family, but your initial instinct was to Truth a slur at Tim Walz?” Stewart’s critique focused on what he portrayed as a baffling choice of action for a former world leader during a national holiday, calling the insult itself “nonsense.”

The story, however, did not end with the slur. During the same press engagement, the topic shifted to Trump’s health, leading to the second major point of comedic focus. Trump revealed he had recently undergone an MRI scan but claimed to be unaware of the specifics. He told the press that he would release the results but had “no idea” what part of his body was examined. He then offered a peculiar clarification: “it wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.”

This statement became a centerpiece of Stewart’s monologue. Looking dumbfounded, he deconstructed the logic of the claim. “That’s not physically possible to have no idea,” Stewart said. “Would you say to the doctor, ‘No, no, no, don’t tell me. I want to find out at my MRI reveal party.’ What is happening?” He further questioned the former president’s apparent lack of curiosity during the medical procedure. “Were you not curious at all? When they laid you down in a tube for a half an hour 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’?”

Other late-night hosts echoed Stewart’s sentiments. On “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert also seized on the MRI mystery, suggesting a direct link between Trump’s confusion and a potential diagnosis. “Trump says he will release MRI results, but doesn’t know what part of his body was scanned,” Colbert stated. “Uh, here’s a theory: Maybe the part that’s broken is the part that’s supposed to know.”

Colbert followed up by mocking Trump’s pride in his cognitive abilities, slipping into his well-known Trump impersonation. “I did so well on the cognitive, they put me in the extra credit tube,” he quipped, parodying the former president’s tendency toward self-aggrandizement.

Over at “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” host Jimmy Kimmel took a similarly critical and satirical approach. Reacting to Trump’s post about Governor Walz, Kimmel drily remarked, “I wonder why he didn’t get that Nobel Peace Prize.” Later in his monologue, Kimmel addressed Trump’s boast that members of the press would be “incapable” of achieving a “perfect mark” on the cognitive test as he had. “Wow, that Melania is a lucky lady indeed,” Kimmel joked, before the show displayed an unflattering photo of Trump with his mouth agape.

The collective response from the late-night circuit underscored the unique role these comedians play in the modern media landscape, translating controversial political news into widely accessible and shareable comedic segments. By focusing on both the offensive nature of the slur against Walz and the sheer absurdity of the MRI anecdote, the hosts provided their audiences with a satirical lens through which to view the actions of a major political figure. The events served as a powerful reminder of how quickly the words of a former president can reverberate through culture, fueling discussion, debate, and, inevitably, a new cycle of late-night comedy.