THEY CAN NO LONGER HIDE IN THE SHADOWS - Trump Shines a Light on Hillary in 2016

October 20, 2016 - Every year the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City is a night for elite politicians, media figures, and clergyman to come together for fun and humorous speeches in the name of Catholic charity. Just one night after the final presidential debate, Donald Trump roasted Hillary Clinton at the Al Smith Dinner. https://www.alsmithfoundation.org/the-dinner/Show more

Donald Trump’s speech TRANSCRIPT:

Trump: Thank you, Al. Wow, that was good. I want to thank your eminence. We love it, Gov. Cuomo, great senators. Hi, Chuck.

He used to love me when I was a Democrat, you know.

Mayor de Blasio, wherever you are. Where is Mayor de Blasio? In the old days, I would have known him very well, but I have not been doing so much of the real estate anymore. I want to thank Al Smith. Just a fantastic job you do at the dinner, and congratulations on a record.

And a special hello to all of you in this room who have known and loved me for many, many years. The politicians. They have had me to their homes. They have introduced me to their children. I have become their best friends in many instances. They have asked for my endorsements, and they always wanted my money. They even called me really a dear, dear friend. But suddenly, when I ran for president as a Republican, they decided I have always been a no-good, rotten, disgusting scoundrel, and they totally forgot about me. But that's okay.

You know, they say when you do this kind of event, you always start out with a self-deprecating joke. Some people think this would be tough for me, but the truth is I am actually a modest person, very modest. It is true. In fact, many people tell me that modesty is perhaps my best quality — even better than my temperament.

You know, Cardinal Dolan and I have some things in common. For instance, we both run impressive properties on Fifth Avenue. Of course, his is much more impressive than mine. That's because I built mine with my own beautifully formed hands, while his was built with the hands of God, and nobody can compete with God, is that correct? Nobody, right?

That's right. It's great to be here with a thousand wonderful people, or as I call it, a small, intimate dinner with some friends. Or as Hillary calls it, her largest crowd of the season. This is corny stuff.

I do recognize that I come into this event with a little bit of an advantage. I know that so many of you in the archdiocese already have a place in your heart for a guy who started out as a carpenter working for his father. I was a carpenter working for my father.

It's true. Not for a long period of time, but about three weeks. What's great about the Al Smith dinner is that even in the rough-and-tumble world of a really hard-fought campaign — in fact, I don't know if you know, Hillary, but last night they said that was the most vicious debate in the history of politics, presidential debate — the most vicious.

Are we supposed to be proud of that? But we did say it, and I am trying to think back to Lincoln. I don't know if they can really speak to that, but the candidates have some lighthearted moments together, which is true. I have no doubt that Hillary is going to laugh quite a bit tonight. Sometimes even at an appropriate moment.

And even tonight, with all of the heated back and forth between my opponent and me at the debate last night, we have proven that we can actually be civil to each other. In fact, just before taking the dais, Hillary accidentally bumped into me, and she very civilly said, "Pardon me."

And I very politely replied, "Let me talk to you about that after I get into office."

Just kidding, just kidding.

And Hillary was very gracious. She said that somehow if she gets elected, she wants me to be, without question, either ambassador to Iraq or to Afghanistan. It's my choice.

But one of the things I noticed tonight, and I've known Hillary for a long time, is this is the first time ever that Hillary Clinton is sitting down and speaking to major corporate leaders and not getting paid for it.

It's true. You know, last night, I called Hillary a nasty woman. But this stuff is all relative. After listening to Hillary rattle on and on and on, I don't think so badly of Rosie O'Donnell anymore. In fact, I am actually starting to like Rosie a lot.

These events gave not only the candidates a chance to be with each other in a very social setting; it also allows the candidates the opportunity to meet the other candidate's team. I know Hillary met my campaign manager, and I got a chance to meet the people who are working so hard to get her elected. There they are, the heads of NBC, CNN, CBS, ABC. There is the New York Times right over there, and the Washington Post. They are working overtime.

This one is going to get me in trouble. Not with Hillary. You know, the president told me to stop whining, but I really have to say, the media is even more biased this year than ever before. You want the proof? Michelle Obama gives a speech, and everyone loves it. It's fantastic. They think she is absolutely great. My wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech and people get on her case. And I don't get — and I don't get it. I don't know why.

And it was not her fault. Stand up, Melania. She took a lot of abuse.

Oh, I'm in trouble when I go home tonight. She did not know about that one. Am I okay? Is that okay? Cardinal, please speak to her.

I'd like to address an important religious matter: the issue of going to confession. Or, as Hillary calls it, the Fourth of July weekend with FBI Director Comey.

I am told Hillary went to confession before tonight's event, but the priest was having a hard time and he asked her about her sins and she said she could not remember 39 times. Hillary is so corrupt, she got kicked off the Watergate commission.

[Boos]

How corrupt do you have to be to get kicked off the Watergate commission? Pretty corrupt. Hillary is and has been in politics since the 1970s. What is her pitch? The economy is busted, the government is corrupt, Washington is failing. Vote for me. I have been working on these problems for 30 years. I can fix it, she says.

I was not really sure if Hillary was going to be here tonight, because, I guess, you did not send her an invitation by email, or maybe you did and she just found out about it through the wonder of WikiLeaks. We have learned so much from WikiLeaks. For example, Hillary Clinton believes it is vital to deceive the people by having one public policy—

[Boos]

And it a different policy in private. That's okay. I don't know who they are angry at. Here she is tonight in public, pretending not to hate Catholics.

[Boos]

Now, if some of you have not noticed, Hillary is not laughing as much as the rest of us. That's because she knows the jokes. All of the jokes were given to her in advance of the dinner by Donna Brazile—

[Boos]

Everyone knows, of course, Hillary has believed that it takes a village, which only makes sense, after all, in places like Haiti, where she has taken a number of them.

[Boos]

Thank you. I won't go this evening without saying something nice about my opponent. Hillary has been in Washington a long time. She knows a lot about how government works. And according to her sworn testimony, Hillary has forgotten more things than most of us will ever, ever know, that I can tell you.

[Boos]

We are having some fun here tonight, and that's good. On a personal note, what an amazing honor it is to be with all of you. I want to congratulate Hillary on getting the nomination, and over the next 19 days, someone will be chosen. We will see what happens. But I have great memories of coming to this dinner with my father over the years when I was a young man. Great experience for me. This was always a special experience for him and me to be together. One thing we can all agree on is the need to support the great work that comes out of the dinner. Millions of dollars have been raised to support disadvantaged children. And I applaud the many people who have worked to make this wonderful event a critical lifeline for children in need.

And that we together broke the all-time record tonight is really something special. More than $6 million. We can also agree on the need to stand up to anti-Catholic bias, to defend religious liberty, and to create a culture that celebrates life. America is in many ways divided.

Thank you. America is in many ways divided like it has never been before. And the great religious leaders here tonight give us all an example that we can follow. We are living in a time and age that we never thought possible before. The vicious barbarism we read about in history books but never thought we would see it in our so-called modern-day world. Who would have thought we would be witnessing what we are witnessing today? We have got to be very strong, very, very smart, and we've got to come together not only as a nation, but as a world community. Thank you very much. God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you.