Charity Dinner Host: Donald Trump ‘Crossed The Line’ With Hillary Clinton Attacks,Turns the Tormentor
If there was any doubt that Donald Trump’s comedy routine at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner did not go over well with the crowd, Alfred E. Smith V put that to rest on Friday morning.
Smith ― the great-great-grandson of the dinner’s namesake, who was the first Catholic presidential nominee from a major party ― specifically told CNN’s “New Day” that Trump’s joke that Hillary Clinton was “pretending not to hate Catholics” did not sit well with the largely Catholic audience.
Donald had some very solid minutes early on and eventually he crossed the line and took it a little too far,” Smith said. “Hillary, on the other hand, was able to laugh at herself and at the same time not underplay any of the serious things that Donald Trump has said or done.
Of course, there was little doubt Thursday night that Trump’s line upset the crowd since it drew loud boos from those gathered. The joke was a reference to the publication of a hacked email that Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri, herself a Catholic, had made an controversial comment about Catholics and evangelicals.
Apparently, the joke did even worse than appearances would suggest, however. Smith argued that Trump, who spoke first, managed to diminish Clinton’s performance by taking “the tone in another direction.”
“Hillary when ultimately she got the mic, she had some very funny things that she had said, and I don’t think they got as many laughs as they could have just because the tone in the room had shifted a bit,” Smith suggested.
The room did get a little uncomfortable,” Smith concluded. “Like I said, that line, in a room full of predominantly Catholics, that didn’t go over so well.
Mr. Trump struggled to keep pace. “Excuse me,” he complained. “My turn,” he stomped.
“The one thing you have over me is experience,” Mr. Trump said at one point.
And yet it seemed clear through this last confrontation that there was a gap in knowledge, or at least in command of the material that candidates seeking to be president are expected to master.
“Take a look at the Start-Up they signed,” Mr. Trump said at one point, apparently referring to the Start nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Pressed on immigration, Mrs. Clinton detailed her plan to overhaul the current system, identifying a daughter of undocumented parents who feared they would be deported. Mr. Trump’s response seemed far less certain: After reiterating his plan to build a wall on the Mexican border, he summoned a line straight out of a Hollywood western. “We have some bad hombres here, and we’re going to get them out,” he said.
Asked about a 2008 Supreme Court decision on gun control, District of Columbia v. Heller, Mr. Trump displayed a loose command of the subject, focusing his answer on Mrs. Clinton’s emotions after the ruling. “Hillary was extremely upset, extremely angry,” he said.
As the debate wore on, Mrs. Clinton kept finding opportunities to make Mr. Trump seem smaller and smaller, or at least more puerile.
She noted that after a stretch without an Emmy for his reality TV show, Mr. Trump had claimed that the awards show was rigged against him — just as he now says about the election.
Mr. Trump did not disappoint. “Should have gotten it,” he said bitterly.
And it became clear that the candidate who relishes his role as a bully had little patience for being bullied.
Mrs. Clinton implied that Mr. Trump would find a way to weasel out of paying his fair share of taxes for Social Security.
“My Social Security payroll contribution will go up, as will Donald’s assuming he can’t figure out how to get out of it,” Mrs. Clinton said, fully aware she was provoking him.
Smith ― the great-great-grandson of the dinner’s namesake, who was the first Catholic presidential nominee from a major party ― specifically told CNN’s “New Day” that Trump’s joke that Hillary Clinton was “pretending not to hate Catholics” did not sit well with the largely Catholic audience.
Donald had some very solid minutes early on and eventually he crossed the line and took it a little too far,” Smith said. “Hillary, on the other hand, was able to laugh at herself and at the same time not underplay any of the serious things that Donald Trump has said or done.
Of course, there was little doubt Thursday night that Trump’s line upset the crowd since it drew loud boos from those gathered. The joke was a reference to the publication of a hacked email that Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri, herself a Catholic, had made an controversial comment about Catholics and evangelicals.
Apparently, the joke did even worse than appearances would suggest, however. Smith argued that Trump, who spoke first, managed to diminish Clinton’s performance by taking “the tone in another direction.”
“Hillary when ultimately she got the mic, she had some very funny things that she had said, and I don’t think they got as many laughs as they could have just because the tone in the room had shifted a bit,” Smith suggested.
The room did get a little uncomfortable,” Smith concluded. “Like I said, that line, in a room full of predominantly Catholics, that didn’t go over so well.
Mr. Trump struggled to keep pace. “Excuse me,” he complained. “My turn,” he stomped.
“The one thing you have over me is experience,” Mr. Trump said at one point.
And yet it seemed clear through this last confrontation that there was a gap in knowledge, or at least in command of the material that candidates seeking to be president are expected to master.
“Take a look at the Start-Up they signed,” Mr. Trump said at one point, apparently referring to the Start nuclear arms reduction treaty.
Pressed on immigration, Mrs. Clinton detailed her plan to overhaul the current system, identifying a daughter of undocumented parents who feared they would be deported. Mr. Trump’s response seemed far less certain: After reiterating his plan to build a wall on the Mexican border, he summoned a line straight out of a Hollywood western. “We have some bad hombres here, and we’re going to get them out,” he said.
Asked about a 2008 Supreme Court decision on gun control, District of Columbia v. Heller, Mr. Trump displayed a loose command of the subject, focusing his answer on Mrs. Clinton’s emotions after the ruling. “Hillary was extremely upset, extremely angry,” he said.
As the debate wore on, Mrs. Clinton kept finding opportunities to make Mr. Trump seem smaller and smaller, or at least more puerile.
She noted that after a stretch without an Emmy for his reality TV show, Mr. Trump had claimed that the awards show was rigged against him — just as he now says about the election.
Mr. Trump did not disappoint. “Should have gotten it,” he said bitterly.
And it became clear that the candidate who relishes his role as a bully had little patience for being bullied.
Mrs. Clinton implied that Mr. Trump would find a way to weasel out of paying his fair share of taxes for Social Security.
“My Social Security payroll contribution will go up, as will Donald’s assuming he can’t figure out how to get out of it,” Mrs. Clinton said, fully aware she was provoking him.
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