Trump’s Clinton gags fail
THE annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a white-tie gala in New York that is often the last time the two presidential nominees share a stage before election day, is traditionally a time when campaign hostilities are set aside. Not this year.
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton traded sharp barbs and brutal take-downs the night after their final debate, with many in the well-heeled crowd turning on the Republican nominee midway through his remarks and showering him with jeers.
Mr Trump, who had drawn big laughs earlier in the speech, appeared to lose the room as he repeatedly dug in with caustic swipes at Ms Clinton, drawing rare boos at a charity event meant to raise money for impoverished children throughout New York.
He appeared to straddle the line when he talked about how “listening to Hillary rattle on and rattle on” had made him better appreciate his former nemesis Rosie O’Donnell.
But he then seemed to cross it when he referred to her as “corrupt” during a lengthy riff on the FBI’s investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state.
“Hillary is so corrupt she got kicked off the Watergate Commission. How corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the Watergate Commission? Pretty corrupt,” he said to loud boos and at least one call demanding he get off the stage.
He then almost appeared to segue into the standard attack lines of his rally speeches, set- ting aside jokes to bring up material contained in hacked Clinton campaign emails.
Ms Clinton also veered into personal digs, making one joke in which she said the Statue of Liberty, for most Americans, represents a symbol of hope for immigrants.
“Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a ‘4’,” Ms Clinton joked. “Maybe a ‘5’ if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.”
Ms Trump and Ms Clinton sat one seat apart for the evening, with New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan acting as the only buffer.
When they entered and took their seats, they did not greet each other or make eye contact, although they did shake hands at the end of the roast. Cardinal Dolan said his seat was “the iciest place on the planet”.