Donald Trump jokes about Doug Emhoff’s affair in comedy ‘roast’

Republican nominee advises Kamala Harris to keep her husband ‘away from the nannies’

Donald Trump used his speech at the annual Al Smith dinner in New York to mock Kamala Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff over his affair during his first marriage.
Speaking at the star-studded white tie dinner in New York, the former president delivered a speech that was mostly good humoured and drew laughter from the crowd as he poked fun at his political opponents.
Trump advised his rival Ms Harris to keep her husband Doug Emhoff “away from the nannies”. 
Acknowledging that he had an affair during his first marriage with his daughter’s teacher, Mr Emhoff said in a statement in August: “During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side.”
Trump also took aim at Ms Harris’s running mate Tim Walz, saying: “I used to think the Democrats were crazy for saying that men don’t have periods, but then I met Tim Walz” – a reference to Mr Walz’s progressive stances on sanitary products and transgender rights in his home state of Minnesota.
The glitzy dinner in New York raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities and has traditionally offered candidates from both parties the chance to trade light-hearted barbs, poke fun at themselves, and show that they can get along — or at least pretend to — for one night in the election’s final stretch.
Trump’s speech marked a stark contrast from his 2016 appearance, in which he was booed after unleashing a torrent of insults towards his then opponent Hillary Clinton whom he labelled “corrupt” and accused of “pretending not to hate Catholics”.
Instead, the former president drew whoops and cheers from the crowd for some of his jests, and even toyed with self-deprecation.
“Tradition holds I need to tell a few self-deprecating jokes,” he said. “So here it goes: Nope! I’ve got nothing, there is nothing to say.”
The seating plan threw up an awkward situation as Trump was sat just a few places away from Letitia James, the New York Attorney-General who last year filed a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organisation. The court found in September 2023 that Trump had committed fraud by over-inflating his wealth by as much as $2 billion (£1.6 billion), though he has brought an appeal.
Melania Trump made a rare appearance alongside her husband at the Catholic fundraiser. The pair appeared to laugh when Saturday Night Live comedian, Jim Gaffigan, joked that America was 19 days away from a “civil war” in reference to election day.
Gaffigan went on to criticise Ms Harris for not attending the traditional dinner but finding time to appear on the Call Her Daddy relationship and sex podcast. 
In her pre-recorded address aired at the gala Ms Harris said that making jokes about Catholics at the prestigious dinner would be like criticising Detroit while speaking at an event in Detroit, something Trump did on the campaign trail. 
Taking a swipe at the incumbent president, Trump joked: “Joe is almost disappeared from view, the only way he could be seen less is if he had a show on CNN.”
In a tonal change from the mostly good-natured speech, Trump went on to call former speaker Nancy Pelosi “crazy” and referred to “Barack Hussein Obama”. He went on to say Ms Harris has “the faculties of a child”. 
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York made an appearance at the dinner despite his mounting legal troubles. 
Trump joked about being happy to be in New York without being served a subpoena. Turning to Mr Adams he said: “you’re peanuts compared to what they’ve done for me”. 
He allied himself to Mr Adams saying they were both “persecuted” by the Department of Justice.
Mr Adams was charged last month with accepting illegal campaign contributions and lavish overseas trips from Turkish officials.