I just don’t know what to say about Donald Trump anymore. He has been disgusting for a long time, even before he decided to run for President, but he has gone off the rails big time.
Last night, Donald had a chance to show his “human” side at the Al Smith Foundation Charity Dinner. He failed. For the first time, I actually heard loud boos. At one point, a man was heard yelling out “finish”.
For those of you who may not know what this dinner is all about, it is to raise money for children in New York City. It is named after Alfred E Smith who was the first Presidential nominee who was also Catholic.
The dinner is an annual event, it is acts like a roast more than a serious speech meeting. The speakers make jokes about themselves and others in the room. Every four years both Presidential candidates are invited to attend the dinner. In the past, this was handled extremely well. Mitt Romney and Barak Obama had a lot of fun and kept it in the spirit of the event.
Trump took the mic first. As is his usual manner, he started off well. He had a few good jokes including one about his wife’s speech at the Republican Convention. Then, as is his wont, he lost it again.
No matter where you put him, he cannot help but make a stump speech. That is exactly what he did last night. The last half of his speech was nothing more than vicious attacks at Clinton. At one point saying “she is finally out in public pretending not to hate Catholics.”
As you can imagine, that did not go over well with the mainly Catholic audience. Boos were raining down on Trump for the rest of the speech and the mood in the room went from humorous to downright anger. At one point even Cardinal Dolan looked very perturbed and stopped listening to him by speaking with Hillary Clinton.
I really don’t understand what Trump’s problem is. I was wondering if he had any sense of humor at all, and this morning I am still not sure. Yes, he delivered some good jokes, but he couldn’t help himself from self-destructing again.
Last night the foundation raised about $6 million for their charity. That is a record. I am sure that having Clinton and Trump on stage together had a lot to do with that. And, I am very happy that amount of money was raised.
When it was all over, Al Smith V said that Trump went too far and that he crossed the line. He said Trump basically took the air out of the room with his rants. That is a real shame.
This dinner is supposed to be a time for everyone to “let their hair down” and simply have some fun. In election years it allows the American People to see the “softer” and more “human” side of our candidates.
Trump doesn’t seem to understand that. He didn’t seem to understand his audience. He didn’t seem to realize just what the dinner is all about. Or, more aptly, he probably doesn’t care about any of that. He only cares about being the center of attention, good or bad.
For the first time, I heard a speaker announce how much money was raised at the dinner. He was basically bragging that he helped raise that money and they wouldn’t have gotten there if he hadn’t attended. Although that may be true, it is still inappropriate.
The good news is that none of the money will go to the Trump Foundation. So we know it will be used for the purpose it is intended.
