Trump, Clinton swap barbs
GOP hopeful draws jeers with personal attacks as candidates share stage at fundraising event
NEW YORK — 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 takedowns 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.
Trump, who had drawn big laughs earlier in the speech, appeared to lose the room as he repeatedly dug in with caustic swipes at 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” has 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.
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,’ ” Clinton joked. “Maybe a ‘5’ if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.”
Trump and Clinton sat one seat apart for the evening, with New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan acting as the only buffer. And when they entered and took their seats, they did not greet each other or make eye contact, though they did shake hands at the conclusion of the roast.
Dolan later called his seat “the iciest place on the planet.”
Some of Trump’s jokes landed well, drawing laughs from both the crowd and Clinton.
His biggest laughs came as he talked about Michelle Obama getting rave reviews for a recent speech. “They think she’s absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech, and people get on her case,” he said to whoops and laughs.
And some of his attack lines flashed a sense of humor that has been mostly absent from the grueling campaign. Clinton was the first one to laugh when Trump joked that she had bumped into him earlier in the night “and she very simply said ‘Pardon me’” — an unsubtle reference to the Republican nominee’s frequent declarations that his opponent should go to jail.
The event came at the close of a day that began with Trump clarifying his assertion Wednesday night at the final presidential debate that he might not accept the election results.
Prominent Republicans in tough re-election battles spent Thursday blasting Donald Trump for refusing to promise that he would respect the results of the presidential election if he loses.
With 19 days until the election, the Republican Party is in a state of historic turmoil, encapsulated by Trump’s declaration that he would leave the nation in “suspense” about whether he accepts the results from an election he has claimed will be “rigged” or even “stolen.”
The immediate responses from GOP officials were divergent and vague, with no clear strategy on how to handle Trump’s threat. The candidate was defiant and would not back away from his position, telling a roaring crowd Thursday in Ohio that he would accept the results “if I win” — and reserving his right to legally challenge the results should he fall short.
For seasoned Republicans who have watched Trump warily as a general election candidate, the aftermath of Wednesday’s debate brought a feeling of finality.
“The campaign is over,” said Steve Schmidt, a Trump critic and former senior strategist on George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaigns.
Calling a refusal to accept the election results “disqualifying,” Schmidt added, “The question is, how close will Clinton get to 400 electoral votes? She’ll be north of 350, and she’s trending toward 400 — and the trend line is taking place in very red states like Georgia, Texas and Arizona.”
“There have been irregularities in our elections, sometimes even fraud, but never to an extent that it affected the outcome,” said McCain, who is up for reelection in Arizona, where some polls show Clinton with an edge in the traditionally red state, even though the senator has a big edge on his own rival.
“We should all be proud of that, and respect the decision of the majority even when we disagree with it. Especially when we disagree with it.”
ReincePriebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, contended that Trump and the party would stand by the results unless the margin is small enough to warrant a recount or legal challenges. Priebus said Trump is merely preserving flexibility in the event of a contested result.
“All he’s saying is, ‘Look, I’m not going to forgo my right to a recount in a close election,’ ” Priebus said. “We accept the results as long as we’re not talking about a few votes where it actually matters. I know him. I know where his head’s at. … I promise you, that’s all this is.”