NEW YORK, Oct. 20 (UPI) — Just 24 hours after squaring off in a caustic final debate, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton found themselves in the same room again Thursday night, albeit under far different circumstances, at the Al Smith Dinner in New York – separated only by a church official.
The quadrennial affair is a high-society fundraiser supporting Catholic Charities, and tradition holds that attendees arrive in white tie. The candidates typically deliver lighthearted remarks, poking fun at themselves and one another.
Past candidates have shown the ability for self-deprecation.
Cardinal Dolan was the potential peacemaker, with Clinton and Trump on either side.
Here we go: the Alfred E. Smith dinner seating chart pic.twitter.com/qbbhGZBoBm— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) October 20, 2016
In 2012, Mitt Romney poked fun at his own wealth.
“A campaign can require a lot of wardrobe changes. Blue jeans in the morning perhaps, a suit for a lunch fundraiser, sport coat for dinner,” the tuxedo-clad Republican said. “But it’s nice to finally relax and to wear what Ann and I wear around the house.”
President Barack Obama joked he was tired of arriving at campaign events to disappointed supporters who “were hoping to see Michelle.”
The haughty affair has given many a candidate fodder. In 2000, George W. Bush joked: “This is an impressive crowd — the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite; I call you my base.”
In 2008, Republican John McCain cracked a joke that still echoes today: “I come here tonight to the Al Smith Dinner knowing that I’m the underdog in these final weeks, but if you know where to look there are signs of hope. There are signs of hope. Even in the most unexpected places, even in this room full of proud Manhattan Democrats… I can’t shake that feeling that some people here are pulling for me. I’m delighted to see you here tonight, Hillary.”
The Al Smith Dinner is hosted by New York Bishop Timothy Dolan. Its namesake is the former governor of New York and the first major party presidential nominee to be Catholic. Smith, a Democrat, was defeated by Herbert Hoover in 1928.
You can watch a livestream of the dinner below beginning at 8:50pm EDT
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