On Thursday evening, former President Donald Trump was the featured speaker at the annual Al Smith dinner, a Catholic charity event in New York. 

Eight years prior, he was jeered as he delivered a pointed speech that targeted his 2016 opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as Just The News reported.

The event was not attended in person by Vice President Kamala Harris, who declined to abandon the campaign trail in the battleground states, where polls indicate that the presidential race is extremely competitive.

However, she did make a fleeting appearance on the screen in a recorded video to address the dinner.

About the Event

The white tie dinner in New York has a long history of providing candidates from both parties with the opportunity to exchange lighthearted barbs and demonstrate their ability to get along, or at least appear to, for one night during the final stretch of the election. The event raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities.

This year, the two nominees did not share the stage, which is frequently the final occasion before Election Day.

Melania Trump, Trump's wife, was present at the dinner, despite her relatively infrequent appearances on the campaign trail. Since the Republican convention in July, the two had not been seen in public together.

In addition to past mayors Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio, as well as numerous business leaders, embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams was also in attendance. Adams allegedly accepted lavish foreign trips and illicit campaign donations from Turkish officials and businessmen, and was charged with these crimes last month.

Trump's Comments

"The only piece of advice I would have for her in the event that she wins would be not to let her husband Doug anywhere near the nannies. Just keep him away," Trump said, admitting, "That's a nasty one."

Trump took a lighthearted jab at Adams for his purported campaign finance violations, asserting that he had "never met a person who's a vegan who liked Turkey so much."

Trump once joked about the assassination attempts against him, stating, "I just don't see the point of taking shots at myself when other people have been shooting at me."

Harris' Address

The video that Harris recorded for the event was shared by her campaign. In the film, comedian Molly Shannon, who is portraying the Catholic maiden character she made famous on "Saturday Night Live," informs Harris that this is one of the most significant dinners since the Last Supper.

Harris asks, "Is there anything that you think that maybe I shouldn't bring up tonight?" in a line of thought that was "dragged" by Catholics online.

"Um, well, don't lie," Shannon says. "Thou shalt not bear false witness to thy neighbor."

"Indeed, especially thy neighbor's election results," Harris quips.

Shannon also suggested, "Maybe don't say anything negative about Catholics," and Harris replies, "I would never do that, no matter where I was. That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit," comments thought to be a dig at Trump's words during a visit there last week.