They may have been at a formal dinner, but it felt more like a boxing ring as Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton traded jabs at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in NYC Thursday, October 20. Watch all the best moments in the video above!
The event, which raised $6 million for Catholic charities, saw the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees seated a few feet from each other at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, with only New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan separating them, presumably as referee. (Divine intervention could be the best explanation for the fact that the pair were later seen shaking hands, despite refusing to do so just one night earlier.)
The real estate mogul, 70, was the first one to speak at the event, and he started in on his political opponent, in a continuation of the attack he waged against the former Secretary of State during the third and final 2016 presidential debate, which he admitted was “vicious,” on Wednesday.
“Just before taking the dais, Hillary accidentally bumped into me, and she very civilly said, ‘Pardon me,'” he told the crowd. “I very politely replied, ‘Let me talk to you about that after I get into office.'”
But his jokes soon took on a more aggressive tone.
“Last night, I called Hillary a ‘nasty woman,'” he continued. “But this stuff is all relative. After listening to Hillary rattle on and on and on, I don’t think so badly of Rosie O’Donnell anymore. In fact, I’m actually starting to like Rosie a lot.”
After complaining about media bias, he talked about his wife Melania‘s much-ridiculed speech at the Republican National Convention.
“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!” he said before declaring it wasn’t his wife’s fault.
After joking about Clinton going to confession, he declared that “Hillary is so corrupt.” His comment was met with boos from the crowd and a look of shock from Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo, who was seated behind the former reality star.
“What’s her pitch?” he asked. “The economy is busted, the government’s corrupt, Washington is failing. Vote for me. I’ve been working on these problems for 30 years, I can fix it.”
The mood in the room appeared to change as the boos continued and Trump was heckled as he took a swipe at her email controversy, WikiLeaks’ release of emails from her campaign staff and the Clinton Foundation’s work in Haiti.
Then it was Clinton’s turn to speak, and she began by joking that she took a break from her “rigorous nap schedule” to be at the dinner, adding, “Usually, I charge a lot for speeches like this.”
After joking that getting through three debates with Trump “has to count as a miracle,” she talked about wanting to put several of the guests in a “basket of adorables” and told Trump that he was free to get up and shout “Wrong!” if at any point he didn’t like what she was saying.
Clinton, 68, then told her opponent, “After listening to your speech, I will also enjoy listening to [Republican Vice Presidential candidate] Mike Pence deny that you ever gave it.”
Then she mentioned one of NYC’s best-known landmarks while referring to Trump’s comments about women. “People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history as a nation of immigrants. A beacon of hope for people around the world,” she said. “Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a four — maybe a five if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.”
She then referred to Trump wanting her to be drug tested before Wednesday night’s debate.
“I’ve got to tell you, I am so flattered that Donald thought I used some sort of performance enhancer,” she said. “Now actually I did: It’s called preparation.”
Calling out Trump’s involvement in the birther movement against President Barack Obama, she said it would be awkward when all the former presidents gathered at the White House. “How is Barack going to get past the Muslim ban?” she asked.
But as she came to the end of her speech, Clinton finally managed to find something that they could both agree on: “Let’s come together, remember what unites us and just rip on Ted Cruz.”
