HOT TAKES: Al Smith Dinner Featured Trump at His Funniest Despite the Elephant (Not) in the Room

  

The Al Smith Dinner is a tradition as honored as the State of the Union and raises money for all the good causes Catholics hold dear. Vice President and selected Democrat nominee Kamala Harris decided she would not be in attendance, something a major candidate had not done in 40 years. Harris’ refusal to attend only heightened the fact that she was not there. She was literally the elephant in the room—without even being in the room. One of comedian and master of ceremonies Jim Gaffigan’s rare funny moments was in roasting her concerning this.

WATCH:

Then there was the extremely lame video Harris taped to air in her absence, which included SNL character Mary Katherine Gallagher (featuring Molly Shannon, who is way past her prime), doing a sycophantic bit before Harris read insincerely off a teleprompter. The 2024 version of “phoning it in.”

WATCH:

Harris really does not pick the best staff. Or if the stories of her being a terrible boss are true, nobody who is truly competent will work for her. Beyond the fact that she refuses to appear at such a dinner because it would humanize the “existential threat to democracy” that is Trump, her Wednesday interview on Fox News showed that she cannot receive criticism; so the fact that she could not sit through a good-natured roast only cements the fact that she has skin as thin as an onion casing.

Outkick founder and radio host Clay Travis put his finger on the pulse and the price of her absence.

The only clips going viral for Harris are the Fox News-Bret Baier debacle and her visibly angry stump speech in Wisconsin on Thursday. If optics alone are an indicator, the Harris-Walz campaign is not doing well. 

As only Trump could do, he capitalized on the moment and dominated the room with 25 minutes of mostly really funny jokes. Here are a few of those Trump moments that received the biggest laughs.

Trump made beautiful hay of Harris’ VP running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz:

Al Smith Dinner In New York City: “I’d like to thank our M.C. this evening, Jim Gaffigan. Most recently, Jim has been playing Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live. That’ll be a very short gig, Jim, but it was fun while it lasted! Unfortunately, Governor Walz isn’t here himself. But don’t worry, he’ll say that he was.”

Then he skewered “White Dudes for Harris.”

And it was chef’s kiss that Trump trolled a visibly uncomfortable Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Not to be excluded, New York County District Attorney and New York Attorney General Letitia James also got a massive dig.

Less than 19 days from the November 5 election, Donald Trump is looking relaxed, confident, and in charge. Kamala Harris…not so much. Case in point: The Harris-Walz campaign issued a response to Trump’s roast. This is unprecedented, not to mention unnecessary:

Donald Trump struggled to read scripted notes written by his handlers, repeatedly complaining that he couldn’t use a teleprompter. He stumbled over his words and lashed out when the crowd wouldn’t laugh with him. The rare moments he was off script, he went on long incomprehensible rambles, reminding Americans how unstable he’s become. And of course he made it all about himself. He may refuse to release his medical records, but every day he makes it clear to the American people that he is not up to the job.

The lady doth project too much, methinks. The Al Smith Dinner audience recognized who is unstable and who isn’t; so do many Americans.

Townhall’s Katie Pavlich pointed out that Harris is once again trying to get by with a little help from her friends.

But the contrast is clear. One candidate stands up and shows up, even when opposed. The other candidate shrinks, hides, and casts shade.

The tweet continues:

I’m not the biggest Trump fan. But he is unapologetically who he is. 

Kamala can’t even decide what she is. 

I’ll give him a lot of credit for a few things. Going to the Al Smith dinner when he’s truly hated by half the crowd, and doing so with a smile? 

Taking a chance with anyone willing to give him a seat to make his case? He goes on with hostile hosts. Why? 

Because he’s not talking to them. He’s talking past them to the audience. 

Juxtapose that with Harris. A perfectly normal interview with expected questions was seen as “hostile”. 

Bret Baier wasn’t combative. She was. She gets flustered because specificity locks her up. 

Trump doesn’t change what he’s saying to any given crowd. He’ll talk tough on the border in front of a Latino audience. 

He’ll talk about crime to an urban audience. 

Maybe he loses. But if anything he’s aggressive regardless and I admire that.

Trump is increasing the respect quotient and maybe even increasing his vote count. We shall see how this all turns out.