Trump to speak at Al Smith dinner after Harris during rally ridicules ‘father of IVF’ claim – US politics live | US elections 2024

The media has begun discussing the phenomenon of secret Trump voters. I don’t know if you’ve heard about this: people who publicly say they would never vote for Trump, but when they go in the booth, they do. It’s a small group, it’s called the Biden family,” Gaffigan jokes. That one gets a pretty big laugh, including from Trump.

This election is “being left up to American voters and four billionaires,” Gaffigan jokes.

“There is one group that baffles me. And I think it baffles most everyone in this country. And I’m talking about the undecided voter. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? You don’t know who you’re voting for?” Gaffigan says.

“You don’t see a difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Like nobody has ever thought, ‘Wait, is that a Trump quote or a Harris quote?”

Here is Gaffigan, with Trump and Melania Trump seated to his left.

“I feel like Donald Trump would probably be less loyal to RFK [Jr] than he would be to KFC,” Gaffigan says.

Harris’s virtual appearance tonight will feature a cameo from actress and former SNL cast member Molly Shannon, playing her fictional Catholic school pupil character Mary Katherine Gallagher.

The Alfred E Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is named for the former New York governor, a Democrat who was the first Catholic to receive a major party nomination for president when he unsuccessfully ran for the White House in 1928.

The event has become a tradition for presidential candidates since Richard Nixon and John F Kennedy appeared together in 1960. In 1996, the archdiocese of New York decided not to invite then president Bill Clinton and his Republican challenger, Bob Dole, reportedly because Clinton vetoed a late-term abortion ban.

A brief history of Trump’s appearances at this event, from the Associated Press:

In 2016, Trump was booed when he appeared at the dinner with his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, and unleashed a particularly nasty speech, calling her “corrupt” and accusing her of “pretending not to hate Catholics.”

Both Trump and President Joe Biden, who is Catholic, spoke at a virtual version of the fundraiser in 2020, which was moved online due to concerns over large gatherings at the height of the pandemic.

Both candidates used their speeches not to tell jokes, but to appeal to Catholic voters, with Biden speaking about how his faith had guided him through moments of tragedy and Trump emphasizing his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Gaffigan takes aim at Harris for not appearing: “I’m sorry, why is vice-president Harris not here? Consider this, this is a room full of Catholics and Jews from New York City, this is a lay-up for vice-president Harris.”

“President Biden couldn’t be here tonight, the DNC made sure of that,” Gaffigan jokes.

Harris will not be appearing in person at the event, but will appear virtually. Trump has criticised her for this, saying, “They didn’t give me the option of a video message, nor would I have done it. This is very disrespectful to everyone involved”.

American comedian Jim Gaffigan, the actor who, among other things, plays Tim Walz on SNL, is speaking now at the Al Smith charity dinner, where Trump is also expected to speak.

Gaffigan promises to be balanced, joking that the will make jokes about both Trump and his running mate, JD Vance.

In comments to reporters after landing in Germany, the US president Joe Biden said he had congratulated the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death and that ‘now was the time to move on’. He called the killing an opportunity to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas and end the yearlong war in Gaza. US officials have expressed measured optimism that Sinwar’s death might breathe new life into ceasefire talks that have so far failed to produce a breakthrough:

Here are the clips Harris played at the rally of Trump talking about women and their reproductive rights:

Here are Harris’s comments on Trump declaring himself “the father of IVF” on a Fox News town hall.

“I mean it just gets more unbelievable sometimes. And now the man calls himself ‘the father of IVF,” Harris said, to laughter from the crowd. “I mean what does that even mean,” she said, laughing. “And all of that while he is the one who by the way is responsible for it being at risk in the first place,” she said.

“What is sadly interesting, I think, when you listen to Donald Trump talk, it becomes increasingly clear, I think, he has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to the healthcare of women in America.”