Comedian Jim Gaffigan recently shared his thoughts on the surreal experience of performing at the Al Smith Dinner—a high-profile New York gala and charity fundraiser. The event is a mainstay on the political calendar (and especially during election years) as lawmakers and leaders try to laugh at themselves—and their rivals—with self-deprecating speeches and roasts. “There’s no better comedy audience than billionaires and politicians, right?” Gaffigan joked, adding, “I love history, and the significance of the Al Smith Dinner—it’s fascinating, the tradition of one day where everyone pokes fun at themselves.”
During an interview on this week’s episode of The Daily Beast Podcast, Gaffigan told co-hosts Joanna Coles and Samantha Bee that he was captivated by Donald Trump’s unexpected effectiveness as a performer during the event.
In his set, Trump poked fun at his own legal troubles in New York—joking that it was “a pleasure (to be) anywhere in New York without a subpoena for my appearance”—and also those of embattled NYC Mayor Eric Adams, of whom he quipped, “I’ve never met a person who’s a vegan who liked Turkey so much.”
He also took the opportunity to come for Kamala Harris and Joe Biden; Harris, breaking years of predecent among presidential candidates, was not present at the event in person.
“He has a true gift for communication. I’d say he was kind of ‘performing on his heels,’ which is very different from a comedian or actor, who’s always on their toes,” Gaffigan explained of Trump. “Trump was just reading through, killing the entire time. It was fascinating to witness—someone mumbling through and absolutely killing.”
Having performed for Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia, Coles asked Gaffigan which was the scarier gig: His Holiness or His Trumpiness? To Gaffigan, the dinner was more daunting because of its polarized, unpredictable audience. “It was, you know, like the loyalists of Trump and the loyalists of Kamala. I knew I was going to anger them on some level,” he explained. Trump’s unpredictability raised the stakes further. “If [Trump] decided, ‘I don’t like this guy,’ his loyalists could run with it,” Gaffigan explained.
And though part of him brushed off the risks, he admitted, “I do want my kids to go to college.”
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The Skinny with Jim Gaffigan is now streaming on Hulu.
