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President Trump appeared at the Al Smith Dinner in New York yesterday. The New York Post covered his appearance here, Fox News here. I have posted the video of his speech at the bottom. The video posted by C-SPAN includes Jim Gaffigan’s introduction (C-SPAN video posted on YouTube here).

Harris herself was absent from the dinner. She appeared only by video. Cardinal Dolan was unforgiving in his comments on her absence. He was disappointed and and he didn’t hide his disappointment. He’s quoted in both the Post and the Fox News stories. If she wins, we will have to pray for him.

I found Trump’s remarks of interest throughout. He encourages Mayor Adams in his current struggle with the Biden Department of Justice: “I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the DoJ for speaking out against open borders.” He expressed confidence in Adams’s ultimate vindication.

Trump occasionally veered from the text of his speech. I think his stated affection for Senator Schumer — “Chuck” — falls into that category. As for President Biden, “I didn’t like Biden very much and now I like him quite a bit.” That is by contrast with his current view of Vice President Harris: “I never liked the people I was competing against.” That’s the bucket she’s in now.

He observed that Catholics have to get out and vote for him despite Harris’s efforts: “Kamala hasn’t given up. She’s in Michigan receiving communion from Gretchen Whitmer.”

His remarks drew on the news of the day. He played it straight in his quotation of the New York Post story on the conversation between Presidents Obama and Biden at the funeral of Ethel Kennedy. The Post retained a lip reader to reconstruct it in a story it posted here yesterday afternoon.

Deep into his remarks Trump joked about Schumer (sitting next to him as he spoke): “If Kamala loses you still have a chance to become the first woman president.” I think that joke must have been written in anticipation of Tim Walz appearing at the dinner in place of Harris. A bit later Trump took up Walz: “Unfortunately, Governor Walz isn’t here. But he’s going to say that he was.”

He returned later to Walz with a joke in the vein of the jab at Schumer: “I used to think the Democrats were crazy for saying men have periods. But then I met Tim Walz.” That’s one joke from which the Star Tribune will shield its readers or will fact-check in the event that the editors let it surface. He’s their man, so to speak.

Trump professed not to be worried about White Dudes for Harris: “Their wives and their wives’ lovers are all voting for me.”

He read a joke written for him in the text of his speech about Doug Emhoff and commented: “That’s a nasty one.”

Toward the end he vowed: “Gonna work very hard to bring back the SALT tax deduction.”

Wait, what? I had missed that Trump has promised to repeal a key component of his own tax law — all in a good cause. That’s part of the comedy of American politics.