--- title: Al Smith Dinner: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's Best Jokes description: These are the five best punchlines from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's speeches at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. canonical: https://time.com/4540289/al-smith-dinner-trump-clinton-zingers/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-21T13:58:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:26.198Z article:section: Politics og:title: Al Smith Dinner: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's Best Jokes og:description: These are the five best punchlines from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's speeches at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. og:url: https://time.com/4540289/al-smith-dinner-trump-clinton-zingers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73a57d4fab084d90/6988ab04656a3f3223bcd8ba/trump-hillary-election-charity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton,Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Al Smith Dinner: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's Best Jokes twitter:description: These are the five best punchlines from Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's speeches at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73a57d4fab084d90/6988ab04656a3f3223bcd8ba/trump-hillary-election-charity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's 5 Biggest Punchlines at the Al Smith Dinner > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8216f075-7e4c-457d-89e0-19a6022da931&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 21, 2016 1:58 PM UTC  Hillary Clinton, left, and Donald Trump, right, stand next to each other towards the end of the 71st annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, on Oct. 20, 2016. Hillary Clinton, left, and Donald Trump, right, stand next to each other towards the end of the 71st annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, on Oct. 20, 2016. Andrew Harnik—AP  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Oct 21, 2016 1:58 PM UTC [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4539981/read-the-transcript-donald-trump-speech-al-smith-dinner/) and [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4539979/read-transcript-hillary-clinton-speech-al-smith-dinner/) both took the stage last night at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner to make what are traditionally lighthearted, self-deprecating speeches. Although Thursday night’s gala was [awkward and tense](http://time.com/4540173/alfred-smith-roast-clinton-trump-insults/?xid=homepage) at times, both candidates landed some jokes, at the expense of themselves and their opponent. Here are the five best punchlines from the evening. **1\.** “The media is even more biased this year than ever before, ever. You want the proof? Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it, it’s fantastic. They think she’s absolutely great. My wife, Melania, [gives the exact same speech](http://time.com/4412175/republican-convention-melania-trump-michelle-obama/?iid=sr-link9) — and people get on her case.” – Trump **2\.** “This is such a special event that I took a break from my rigorous nap schedule to be here. And as you’ve already heard, it’s a treat for all of you too, because usually I charge a lot for speeches like this.” – Clinton **3\.** “And even tonight, with all of the heated back and forth, between my opponent and me at the debate last night, we have proven that we can actually be civil to each other. In fact, just before taking the dais, Hillary accidentally bumped into me and she very civilly said, ‘Pardon me.’ And I very politely replied, ‘Let me talk to you about that after I get into office.'” – Trump **4\.** “People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history as a nation of immigrants, a beacon of hope for people around the world. Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a ‘four.’ Maybe a ‘five’ if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.” – Clinton **5\.** “Hillary believes that it’s vital to deceive the people by having one public policy, and a totally different policy in private… For example, here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics.” – Trump, eliciting boos from the crowd ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4540289/al-smith-dinner-trump-clinton-zingers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4540289/al-smith-dinner-trump-clinton-zingers/"},"headline":"Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's 5 Biggest Punchlines at the Al Smith Dinner","datePublished":"2016-10-21T13:58:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:26.198Z","description":"\"Usually, I charge a lot for speeches like these\"","url":"https://time.com/4540289/al-smith-dinner-trump-clinton-zingers/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73a57d4fab084d90/6988ab04656a3f3223bcd8ba/trump-hillary-election-charity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73a57d4fab084d90/6988ab04656a3f3223bcd8ba/trump-hillary-election-charity.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton,Donald Trump","caption":"Hillary Clinton,Donald Trump","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4540289/al-smith-dinner-trump-clinton-zingers/","name":"Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's 5 Biggest Punchlines at the Al Smith Dinner"}}]}] ```