Trump shows off at Al Smith's annual dinner with big a 'roast' as Kamala sends pre-recorded video

Former president Donald Trump took the stage at the 79th Alfred E. Smith this Thursday night, showing off with a humor-laden "roast" with vice president Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party as its main targets.

Typically, this annual bipartisan political dinner adds a touch of humor and distension to the presidential campaign each election cycle, especially since the candidates attend the event and take the floor. On this occasion, however, Harris decided not to attend the event and instead completely ceded the space to Trump, who showed no mercy on stage.

"If you really wanted Vice President Harris to accept your invitation, I guess you should have told her the funds were going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis. And she would have been here, guaranteed. She would have been guaranteed," Trump joked about Harris' rant Thursday. "I must say I was shocked when I heard that Kamala was skipping the Al Smith dinner. I'd really hoped that you would come, because we can't get enough of hearing her beautiful laugh. She laughs like crazy."

The former chairman also took aim at Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff, who cheated on his first wife with a nanny.

"A major issue in this race is childcare, and Kamala has put forward a concept of a plan... The only piece of advice I would have for her in the event she wins would be not to let husband Doug anywhere near the nannies," said Trump, who also took aim at Democrats in attendance, specifically Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who stood next to him and laughed at several points at the GOP candidate's jokes.

"Look on the bright side, Chuck, considering how woke your party has become, if Kamala loses, you still have a chance to become the first woman president."

The former chairman also charged at Harris' running mate, Tim Walz.

"I used to think Democrats were crazy for saying that men have periods. But then I met Tim Walz."

Meanwhile, Vice President Harris merely posted a prerecorded video of herself accompanied by Molly Shannon, the former "Saturday Night Live" cast member who, for the video, played her role as the character Mary Katherine Gallagher, a Catholic student.

"So tell me something, I’m giving a speech. Do you have some thoughts about what I might say tonight?" Harris asked Shannon in the video.

"Don’t lie. Thou shall not bear false witness to thy neighbor," Shannon said.

"Indeed, especially thy neighbor’s election results," the vice president replied.

However, the graciousness of sending the prerecorded video does not erase the fact that Harris became, by her absence, the first major-party presidential candidate not to attend the dinner since Walter Mondale in 1984.

The decision has earned Harris harsh criticism, the most resounding being from the archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, the dinner's host.

"This year will be unbalanced because, unfortunately, Kamala Harris will not be attending. It's a shame, because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It's not a campaign speech. It is not a campaign stop," Dolan said on his podcast this week.

The Al Smith Dinner was launched in 1946 and has since raised millions of dollars for charities that support women and children. It eventually became a political and cultural touchstone during election seasons.

The event is named in honor of the first Catholic presidential candidate, Al Smith, who was the 42nd governor of New York and ran as a Democrat in 1928.