Boos for Trump at Al Smith
Donald Trump was roundly booed at the annual Al Smith Dinner Thursday night after he broke from the tradition of pointed humor and launched harsh attacks against Hillary Clinton that he used on the campaign trail.
“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!” Trump said as many in the blacktie crowd of 1,500 at the Waldorf-Astoria began booing.
“Hillary believes it’s vital to deceive the people by having one public policy and a totally different policy in private,” the Republican nominee continued as the restless crowd jeered, apparently confusing him.
“That’s OK,” he responded. “I don’t know who they’re angry at, Hillary, you or I? For example, here she is tonight in public, pretending not to hate Catholics,” he said to more catcalls.
Longtime attendees at the charity dinner, which draws many of the Big Apple’s political, corporate and media elites, were stunned.
“It’s the first time in over 20 years that I’ve heard boos like this,” said a church official.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan could be seen speaking with Clinton during Trump’s harsh attack.
“As Ronald Reagan would say, there you go again,” chided Al Smith IV, the great-grandson of the four-term New York governor, after Trump finished.
But Trump had started strong. Before veering off, the mogul was getting his share of laughs by following the Catholic charity’s decades-old practice of mixing political jibes and heavy doses of humor.
“Hillary accidentally bumped into me and she very civilly said, ‘Pardon me,’ ” he joked.
Trump drew his loudest laughs of the night by recalling how his wife’s address at the Republican National Convention had included lines cribbed from a speech by Michelle Obama.
“I must say the media is more biased than ever before. Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves her. My wife, Melania, gives the same speech and people get on her case,” he said.
Clinton lobbed her own zingers, all designed to elicit laughs while still making a political point.
“Donald, after listening to your speech, I will also enjoy listening to Mike Pence deny that you ever gave it,” she said, referring to Trump’s running mate and chief apologist.
And in a dig at Trump’s continued claims of an unfair election, she added, “I’ve had the privilege of being at the Al Smith dinners in years past, and I always enjoy them. But remember, if you’re not happy with the way it comes out, it must be rigged.”
At times, the former secretary of state was self-deprecating.
“People say, and I hear them, I’m boring compared to Donald. But I’m not boring at all. In fact, I’m the life of every party I attend. And I’ve been to three,” she said.
Clinton addressed Trump’s objectification of women with a joke about Lady Liberty.
“It’s always a special treat for me to be back in New York, a city that I love. People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history as a nation of immigrants,” she said. “Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a 4, maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.”
Dolan wrapped up the gala, which raised a record $6 million, by joking that while sitting between the two candidates — the “iciest place on the planet” — he wondered, “Where is global warming when you need it?”
HILLARY CLINTON
Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a 4, maybe a 5 if she loses the torch.
He actually sent a car to bring me here tonight — actually, it was a hearse.
DONALD TRUMP
You know, last night, I called Hillary a nasty woman. But this stuff is all relevant after listening to Hillary rattle along and on and on. I don’t think so badly of Rosie O’Donnell anymore.
I really have to say the media is even more biased than ever before. You want the proof? Michelle Obama gives a speech, and everyone loves it, it’s fantastic. They think she’s absolutely great. My wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech and people get on her case.