Traditionally, the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, held each year as a fundraiser for Catholic charities, is an opportunity for the major-party candidates to diffuse the tension of the more formal presidential debates by delivering good-natured comedic speeches. Traditionally. But, as even aliens from another galaxy surely would have realized by now, this is not a traditional election. All of which to say is that, if his plan to plop himself down on the sidewalk and throw a temper tantrum should he lose the election on November 8 doesn’t work, Donald Trump has to start examining his career options. And he should probably cross “stand-up comedian” from the list.
You see, Trump’s crippling inability to compose himself for more than 15 minutes came back to bite him once again last night at the Al Smith Dinner: His speech, which began as comedic, gradually fell apart, transforming into a spiteful airing of embittered grievances—as NPR puts it, “it was hard at times to tell if he was joking”—that drew boos from the well-heeled crowd. (His remark, “here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics,” was particularly poorly received.)
Think about that for a second. A bunch of rich old conservative Catholics, the kind of people who pay thousands of dollars to attend black-tie galas so they can make nice with archbishops, booed the Republican nominee for President of the United States. NBC senior news editor Bradd Jaffy caught it on tape: