--- title: Al Smith Dinner 2016: Best Internet Memes description: Following Wednesday's heated final presidential debate, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced off at the annual Alfred E. Smith dinner. canonical: https://time.com/4540320/al-smith-dinner-memes-2016/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-21T16:02:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:37:51.648Z og:title: 10 Hilarious Internet Hot Takes About the Al Smith Dinner og:description: From religion to Rudy Giuliani, nothing was off limits og:url: https://time.com/4540320/al-smith-dinner-memes-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta18ab75608c9020e/6988ab06ab6d7779c86aba4e/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-al-smith-dinner-memes-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton Attend Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Hilarious Internet Hot Takes About the Al Smith Dinner twitter:description: From religion to Rudy Giuliani, nothing was off limits twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta18ab75608c9020e/6988ab06ab6d7779c86aba4e/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-al-smith-dinner-memes-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Hilarious Internet Hot Takes on the Al Smith Dinner > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 21, 2016 4:02 PM UTC  Cardinal Timothy Dolan sits between, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump attend the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria on October 20, 2016 in New York City.(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Cardinal Timothy Dolan sits between, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump attend the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria on October 20, 2016 in New York City.(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Spencer Platt—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 21, 2016 4:02 PM UTC Following Wednesday’s heated [third and final presidential debate](http://time.com/4538113/presidential-debate-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-lessons/), Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump attended [the 71st annual Alfred E. Smith dinner](http://time.com/4540289/al-smith-dinner-trump-clinton-zingers/) in New York City on Thursday night. The white-tie event, which has traditionally been a vehicle for presidential candidates to [make lighthearted jokes about each other in a sort of genteel roast](http://time.com/4536377/why-tonight-is-donald-trumps-last-stand/), is the last public appearance that both candidates will appear at together before the November election. Because the dinner is a fundraiser for Catholic charities, it’s hosted by the Archbishop of NYC; this year it was hosted by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who had the particularly choice task of sitting between Clinton and Trump during the formal dinner. The tension of the affair provided plenty of opportunities for the folks at home and online to sound off with their reactions. Many of them found humor in the awkwardness of the situation after a contentious debate, while others had hot takes about the dinner guests’ reactions to the jabs that Hillary and Donald were exchanging. See the Internet’s best offerings about last night’s Al Smith dinner below. One user succinctly captured the mood of the dinner. > [](https://twitter.com/siomo/status/789275104844902400) While another let us know how he really felt about watching the drama unfold. > [](https://twitter.com/bimadew/status/789283373638451200) > [](https://twitter.com/MikeNellis/status/789274534327291904) Others were still in awe of how awkward the situation was. > [](https://twitter.com/bri%5Fsacks/status/789275986793594880) And some found the prospect of attending daunting. > [](https://twitter.com/somebadideas/status/789288103068442626) Another found it comparable to stress in her own life. > [](https://twitter.com/senatorshoshana/status/789291879594622976) And one found it downright terrifying. > [](https://twitter.com/louisvirtel/status/789284230903640064) One user deciphered the true purpose of the dinner. > [](https://twitter.com/MarkHarrisNYC/status/789272110409641984) The true winner: > [](https://twitter.com/PFTompkins/status/789275682664701952) > [](https://twitter.com/Kesha%5FMonk/status/789275105511759872) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4540320/al-smith-dinner-memes-2016/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4540320/al-smith-dinner-memes-2016/"},"headline":"10 Hilarious Internet Hot Takes on the Al Smith Dinner","datePublished":"2016-10-21T16:02:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:37:51.648Z","description":"Nothing was off limits","url":"https://time.com/4540320/al-smith-dinner-memes-2016/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Hillary Clinton","Entertainment","politics","Internet","twitter","Donald Trump","Culture","memes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta18ab75608c9020e/6988ab06ab6d7779c86aba4e/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-al-smith-dinner-memes-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta18ab75608c9020e/6988ab06ab6d7779c86aba4e/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-al-smith-dinner-memes-2016.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton Attend Alfred E. 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