The Al Smith Dinner has traditionally provided presidential candidates with the opportunity to playfully jab one another in the campaign’s final days, but Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton used the opportunity to launch attacks and attracted some boo-birds.
From Washington Examiner
Rather than making many self-deprecating jokes at the white-tie affair, Trump and Clinton battled each other head on in their respective speeches. Trump took the microphone first and began by making light of his wife’s speech at the GOP convention and about Clinton’s alleged misdeeds as secretary of state.
But he soon trained his fire on Clinton and drew the ire of the crowd.
“Hillary is so corrupt, she got kicked off the Watergate Commission,” Trump said as the boos rained down. “How corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the Watergate Commission? Pretty corrupt.”
When Clinton took the stage, she began with a joke at her own expense — noting that she, “took a break from my rigorous nap schedule.” However, she did not wait long to mock Trump.
“Now just to be clear, I think the Cardinal is saying I’m not eligible for sainthood, but getting through these three debates with Donald has to count as a miracle,” Clinton said.
She also ribbed Trump for having to translate the speeches in his TelePrompTers from the “original Russian,” in a punching reference to the identity of the hackers she has alleged ascertained her campaign’s private emails.
The Al Smith Dinner is designed as a fundraiser that brings together political adversaries in honor of its namesake, the first Catholic nominee for president. But Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, appeared to recognize the nasty tone the event had taken on when he took the stage last.
“Pardon my congestion and cough, I’m afraid I’m coming down with a cold,” Dolan said after clearing his throat, “which is completely understandable given the fact that for the last two hours I’ve had a seat between our two candidates in what’s probably the iciest place on the planet.”
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