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Kamala Harris roasted Donald Trump with the help of Saturday Night Live icon Molly Shannon during a pre-recorded speech screened at the Al Smith charity dinner in New York City.
The vice president skipped the star-studded charity dinner to campaign in Wisconsin but appeared via video address instead alongside Shannon, who reprised her “Superstar” Catholic schoolgirl character, Mary Katherine Gallagher.
In the skit, Harris took a swipe at Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election result and brought up his comments calling Detroit “a mess” in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club last week.
Harris, who is the first presidential candidate for a major party to skip the event in decades, asked Shannon’s character for her advice on what she should say in her address to the dinner.
“Don’t lie. Thou shall not bear false witness to why neighbor,” the comedian replied.
“Indeed, especially thy neighbor’s election results,” Harris said in a quip aimed at Trump.
Shannon added: “Don’t say anything negative about Catholics.”
Harris responded: “I would never do that no matter where I was. That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit.”
Shannon asked Harris a final question: “Does it bother you that Trump guy insults you all the time?”
“Oh Mary Katherine,” Harris replied. “You should never let anyone tell you who you are, you tell them who you are.”
After Shannon exited, Harris took the opportunity to address the room directly and deliver a more serious message.
“The Al Smith dinner provides a rare opportunity to set aside partisanship and come together to do some good by supporting the tremendous charitable work of the Catholic church,” she said.
“In the spirit of tonight’s dinner, let us recommit to reaching across divides, to seek understanding and common ground.”
During his in-person address at the dinner, Trump also took swipes about Harris, laying into the vice president’s absence.
“But I must say, I was shocked when I heard that Kamala was skipping the Al Smith dinner,” Trump said. “I’d really hoped that she would come, because we can’t get enough of hearing her beautiful laugh. She laughs like crazy. We would recognize it any place in this room.”
In a more pointed jab at the expense of Harris and President Joe Biden, Trump said: “We have someone in the White House who can barely talk, barely put together two coherent sentences, who seems to have mental faculties of a child, is a person that has...no intelligence whatsoever — but enough about Kamala Harris.”
The glittering charity event saw Trump and wife Melania rubbing shoulders with friends – and avoiding foes, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, who was sat very close behind him. James was responsible for bringing the $454m civil fraud case against Trump, which his team is appealing against.
Several big-name politicians also attended the charity event. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer both attended, sitting near the former president.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was also in attendance despite his own legal woes, after he was indicted on criminal charges over an alleged bribery scheme.
Robert F Kennedy Jr showed his face alongside his wife Cheryl Hines at a time when he is at the center of a scandal with journalist Olivia Nuzzi, who was placed on leave from New York Magazine after disclosing a “personal relationship” with him.
