Once again, Donald Trump and Stephen Colbert are at odds.
The world has witnessed Trump’s bizarre speeches, his fixation on building a palatial ballroom, and clear moments of confusion.
Critics argue that it may have passed the point of “sundowning” if the sun, metaphorically speaking, never actually rises.
After Trump underwent an unexplained MRI and took a test that measures cognitive decline (while thinking that it was an IQ test), Colbert is pointing out the obvious: something is very wrong.
Stephen Colbert isn’t the only one noting Donald Trump’s obvious cognitive struggles
Late last week, Donald Trump boasted about what he characterized as a “very hard” test that he believed to be an IQ test.
It is not surprising to hear him brag. Not about the test, nor about the MRI that doctors at Walter Reed performed.
A desperate need to loudly proclaim his own greatness is one of his defining features. Once, it was comical in its absurdity.
What was surprising is that Trump very clearly did not take an IQ test.
Instead, alongside an MRI, he very clearly took a test that measures cognitive decline: the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. It is a test that most often checks for Dementia.
Love to show how smart I am by bragging about my score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
— Max Kennerly (@maxkennerly.bsky.social) October 27, 2025 at 10:32 AM
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Over the weekend, social media was full of people pointing out that Trump’s brag was clearly a self-own.
Some believed that his IQ test story was a deliberate and self-aggrandizing lie.
However, many suggested that perhaps he was honestly confused. Remember, Trump recently expressed bewilderment when he learned that 5-year-old footage that he saw on television was not current for Portland.
There are even those who believe that Trump’s advisors are playing into his obvious confusion and struggle to differentiate fiction from reality. Perhaps someone told him that this simple cognitive exam was to measure his IQ.
No matter what, the boasting followed by Donald Trump’s clear disorientation during his tour of Asia caught the attention of millions — including late night host Stephen Colbert.
On ‘The Late Show,’ Colbert laid out how abnormal all of this is
This week, The Late Show host Stephen Colbert pointed out that an MRI, like the one that Donald Trump underwent, is “usually something you only get when the doctors think something’s wrong with you.”
Addressing the audience, he noted: “Scans are typically ordered for disease detection and monitoring, or to detect bone or joint abnormalities.”
Colbert expressed concern, saying: “That’s not comforting. What were they looking for?”
He also addressed Trump’s farcical bluster about the alleged IQ test.
“As a reminder, the cognitive test Trump took is not designed as a measure of intelligence or IQ,” Colbert emphasized. “And not knowing the difference between those two things is one of the reasons they make you take a cognitive test.”
On Tuesday, October 28, Colbert also highlighted how Trump’s clear confusion has been on display during his tour of Asia.
He played a clip of Trump trying but failing to follow Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi through a room.
During the clip, as you can see above, he seems to shuffle along at first before becoming either distracted or confused and ambling forward before getting back on track.
“There’s Trump with the prime minister,” Colbert narrated the incident. “He stops to salute the American flag.”
He continued: “Then she goes, ‘Hey, look at our flag.’ And he goes, ‘Nah, not really my type. Bye.’ And off he shambles into the distance.”
This is a national humiliation for us all
It’s not funny that the entire world is seeing this. This is, in so many ways, a dark time for America.
Just as it’s not funny that every country on earth knows that they need only appease one deeply suggestible person in their negotiations. It feels like the United States is for sale.
However, the video is, out of context, silly. Colbert likens it to losing one’s grandfather at the mall. The Daily Show compared the clip to a dog show, where a dog wanders off of the course.
At this point, Trump is mostly rage and sensory-response. Anyone who once harbored inexplicable beliefs that he could or would do positive things for the American people is out of luck.
But it does not appear that the White House is going to take any steps to disclose Trump’s actual health to the American people, even as his signs of cognitive and physical decay become more apparent with each passing month.