Trump delivers a master class in comedy — and demolishes Harris



President Donald Trump helped raise money for New York City's most vulnerable women and children Thursday evening by bashing Kamala Harris, suggesting that some of her remaining male supporters are cuckolds and insinuating that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) was a direct beneficiary of the tampons he put in boys' restrooms.

Trump's humorous critique of his opponent and the Democratic Party — which had the crowd in stitches and subsequently prompted many a meltdown in the liberal media and among Harris boosters — was thematically reinforced at the 79th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner by an unlikely source: Jim Gaffigan, a left-leaning comedian who called Trump a "fascist" in 2020.

Although Gaffigan made sure to poke fun at Trump, he risked the ire of his leftist peers by similarly knocking Harris — questioning her decision to blow off the event and suggesting that she became the Democratic candidate by undemocratic means.

"The Democrats have been telling us Trump's re-election is a threat to democracy," said Gaffigan. "In fact, they were so concerned of this threat that they staged a coup, ousted their democratically elected incumbent, and installed Kamala Harris."

Early in his speech, Trump emphasized his appreciation for the dinner, which Harris refused to attend — an event hosted by the Archdiocese of New York that he frequented with his late father, raising money for kids with special needs, foster children, low-income single mothers, and other vulnerable persons in the city.

After noting that he was happy to participate in a New York event that he wasn't summoned to by subpoena, Trump unleashed on Harris, noting that her absence, which she tried to remedy with a four-minute video submission featuring former "Saturday Night Live" star Molly Shannon, was "weird" and "deeply disrespectful" — an assertion that was audibly well received by the audience, who booed her in absentia.

Trump joked that Harris was likely hunting with Walz, referring to the governor's embarrassing hunting-themed photo op last weekend, or alternatively "receiving communion from Gretchen Whitmer," the Michigan governor who recently shared a video apparently mocking Catholics and the Eucharist.

Echoing a previous statement from Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the organizer of the dinner, Trump pointed out that the last major party candidate not to attend the event was Democratic candidate Walter F. Mondale, who lost 49 out of 50 states, securing only 13 electoral votes in the 1984 election against Ronald Reagan.

Earlier in the evening, Gaffigan said, "This event has been referred to as the Catholic Met Gala. 22% of Americans identify as Catholic. Catholics will be a key demographic in every battleground state. I'm sorry, why is Vice President Harris not here?"

'Governor Walz isn't here himself, but don't worry, he'll say that he was.'

Trump, who sardonically suggested that Harris' laugh was "beautiful" and recommended keeping her husband, Doug Emhoff, away from the nannies, suggested that if the organizers of the event really wanted the vice president to accept their invitation, they should have "told her the funds were going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis and she would have been here, guaranteed."

Prior to roasting some of Harris' allies, Trump suggested that the country needs new leadership, noting:

We have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have mental faculties of a child. It's sad. This is a person who has nothing going, no intelligence whatsoever — but enough about Kamala Harris.

Trump subsequently singled out Ross Morales Rocketto's Democratic booster group White Dudes for Harris, saying, "I'm not worried about them at all because their wives and their wives' lovers are all voting for me. Every one of those people are voting for me."

After suggesting White Dudes for Harris were cuckolds, Trump roasted Harris' running mate, saying, "Unfortunately Governor Walz isn't here himself, but don't worry, he'll say that he was."

"I used to say that Democrats were crazy for saying that men have periods," continued Trump. "But then I met Tim Walz."

Although he acknowledged that speakers at the event customarily make some self-deprecating jokes, Trump noted there was no point taking shots at himself "when other people have been shooting at me."

Trump did, however, adopt a serious tone toward the end of his speech, noting that in the wake of two known assassination attempts, he has "a fresh appreciation for how blessed we are by God's providence and His divine mercy," adding that with God's help, "there is nothing that cannot be achieved."

When wrapping up his remarks, Trump noted that New York City needed the room for a "large group of illegal aliens coming in from Texas."

While Trump had the crowd laughing, including longtime critics Gaffigan and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Harris campaign tried spinning his speech as a failure.

Ammar Moussa, the Harris campaign's rapid response director, claimed in a joyless statement that Trump "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."

In her brief Al Smith dinner video submission, Harris went on the defense, suggesting that she would never say anything negative about Catholics despite previously suggesting the Knights of Columbus' Catholic faith disqualified them from serving as judges and introducing legislation aimed at forcing Catholic organizations to engage in activities that violate their religious beliefs.

After citing a verse from the Gospel of Luke, Harris closed her video by recommitting "to reaching across divides, to seek understanding and common ground."

Gaffigan responded to Harris' video saying, "As I watch that, I couldn't help but think of — now I know how my kids felt when I FaceTime into a piano recital they were at."

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Cardinal Dolan jokes about what Harris might share in common with last person to blow off the Al Smith dinner



Vice President Kamala Harris has decided to blow off the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner hosted by the Archdiocese of New York. She will be the first Democratic nominee in 40 years not to attend the annual event, which has raised millions of dollars to help the city's most vulnerable women and children — including kids with special needs, foster children, and low-income single mothers.

President Donald Trump indicated he will not similarly leave the archdiocese and related charities in the lurch, noting Harris' decision was "sad, but not surprising."

While some critics have suggested Harris' decision is at the very least a strategic blunder and possibly also further confirmation of her enmity toward Catholics, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the organizer of the dinner, made light of Harris' declination, intimating it may be a matter of history rhyming.

"We're disappointed," Cardinal Dolan said Monday at a press briefing following an event at Elizabeth Seton Children's Center in Yonkers, a medical center for disabled kids the dinner helps fund. "We were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome."

'I don't know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot.'

"You know, she speaks very much about the high ideals and how it's good to get away from division, and come together in unity, and all. That's what the Al Smith Dinner is all about," continued the cardinal. "We haven't given up yet. We're not used to this. We don't know how to handle it."

The archdiocese's director of communications, Joseph Zwilling, confirmed to Crux that Harris had declined to attend the dinner.

Cardinal Dolan intimated that the election may ultimately prove this decision to be common to losers.

"This hasn't happened in 40 years — since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation. And remember: He lost 49 out of 50 states," said Cardinal Dolan.

Ronald Reagan steamrolled Democratic candidate Walter F. Mondale in the 1984 election. Mondale only managed to secure 13 electoral votes from his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Reagan kept the White House with 525 electoral votes and nearly 17 million more votes.

As members of the press and others stifled laughter, Dolan noted that there is still a chance Harris will change her mind, particularly with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul leaning on her to attend.

Brian Browne, the associate vice president of university communications and public affairs at St. John's University, suggested to Crux that Harris' decision didn't make sense, especially since there would be no unscripted moments, which her campaign is apparently afraid of.

"Given she's the Democratic candidate, she would have access to the best joke writers on the east coast and the west coast who would love the opportunity to write a script. It's a very scripted event," said Browne. "I know she seems to be very dependent on a teleprompter, but it's a teleprompter event. Yes, you might get some groans if your jokes don't land, but you're not going to get booed off the stage or heckled. It's always this kind of coming together type of moment."

Browne added, "It's a missed opportunity to demonstrate a human side and come together for a charitable cause, and you know, if I was advising her, I would tell her to reconsider this."

'Harris's animus toward Catholicism is not limited to inquisition of Catholic nominees for federal courts.'

Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social, "It will be an honor to attend the SOLD OUT 79th ANNUAL AL SMITH DINNER on October 17th in New York. It will be great to see so many wonderful people there, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan. We know the Spirit of Al Smith, the first Catholic Nominee of a Major Party, and John F. Kennedy, the FIRST Catholic President, will be in the room with us that night."

Trump added, "It's sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend. I don't know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn't been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration. Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined."

This is not the first time Trump has highlighted Harris' ostensible antipathy to Catholics.

Trump told a crowd at the Turning Point Believers' Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, in July that "radical left ideology Kamala supports is really militantly hostile towards Americans of faith" and that Harris personally has an issue with Catholics.

Harris "viciously attacked highly qualified judicial nominees simply because they were members of the Knights of Columbus, suggesting that their Catholic faith disqualified them from serving on the federal bench," said Trump.

Kenneth Craycraft, the James J. Gardner Chair of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary and School of Theology, underscored in First Things that "Harris's animus toward Catholicism is not limited to inquisition of Catholic nominees for federal courts, but also extends to harassment of public organizations whose missions are consistent with Catholic moral theology."

Craycraft noted that Harris introduced legislation aimed at forcing "religious individuals and organizations to engage in activities that directly violate their firmly held religious beliefs" and cosponsored the "Equality Act," which would "force Catholic hospitals, for example, to perform gender transition surgeries, open women's restrooms to men, and force girls and women to compete against boys and men in athletic competitions."

A similar animus has thrived at the Biden-Harris FBI in recent years.

The House Judiciary Committee and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government revealed late last year that the FBI under the current administration has "abused its counterterrorism tools to target Catholic Americans as potential domestic terrorists."

According to CNN, Harris intends to campaign in an unspecified battleground state on October 17.

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Transgender Funeral At St. Patrick’s Cathedral Is An Attack On The Church

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-19-at-6.54.02 PM-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-19-at-6.54.02%5Cu202fPM-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]Funeral organizers deceptively kept church leaders in the dark to use a holy place to mock the teachings of Jesus.