Comedian Jim Gaffigan spoke at the Al Smith charity dinner on Thursday and, as tradition dictates, he roasted both major candidates in the upcoming election. For Donald Trump, Gaffigan got some groans by bringing up Trump’s history of discriminating against Black tenants.
“If Vice President Harris wins this election, not only would she be the first female president: a Black woman would occupy the White House, a former Trump residence.” He turned to Trump and added, “Obviously you wouldn’t be renting to her. I mean, that would never happen anyway… Maybe if Doug [Emhoff] did the signing.”
Gaffigan also brought up Trump’s debate moment where he falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of eating dogs and cats, comparing it to one of Trump’s biggest scandals from 2016: “You know, if you’re keeping track at home, this is the second time grabbing a kitty has been part of a campaign issue.” The joke drew perhaps his biggest round of groans from the audience all night.
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Receiving far more laughs and applause from the audience were Gaffigan’s many jokes at Harris’ expense. He particularly digged in at Harris for choosing not to attend the event, while also focusing on a string of campaign rallies throughout Michigan.
“You know, this event has been referred to as the Catholic Met Gala,” Gaffigan said. “Twenty-two percent 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?”
Gaffigan said, “I mean, consider this: This is a room full of Catholics and Jews in New York City. This is the layup for the Democratic nominee.”
“I mean, in her defense, she did find time to appear on The View, Howard Stern, Colbert, and the longtime staple of campaigning, the Call Her Daddy podcast,” Gaffigan mocked.
Gaffigan repeatedly joked about Biden having dropped out of the election, at one point saying, “President Biden couldn’t be here tonight. The DNC made sure of that.”
He later added, “The Democrats have been telling us Trump’s re-election is a threat to democracy. In fact, they were so concerned of this threat that they staged a coup, ousted their democratically elected incumbent, and installed Kamala Harris.” Gaffigan was repeating a months-long MAGA talking point, receiving cheers and applause from the audience at the same time.
Gaffigan also brought up the much-speculated idea of the “Shy Trump Voter” deciding the election: “I don’t know if you’ve heard about this: people who publicly say they would never vote for Trump, but then when they go in the voting booth, they do.”
“It’s a small group,” Gaffigan said. “They’re called the Biden family.”
