new york<u+2014>one day after the two leading presidential candidates lashed out at each other on the debate stage in las vegas, hillary clinton and donald trump sat one seat apart -- with only a man of the cloth between them -- at a charity event with a tradition of bringing levity to the final stages of presidential campaigns. but in this brutally negative election year, the candidates<u+2019> roasts at the annual alfred e. smith gala turned into a blazing exchange of too-close-for-comfort zingers. mr. trump, whose attacks were so harsh that at one point he was booed, said wednesday<u+2019>s debate had been dubbed <u+201c>the most vicious debate in the history of politics.<u+201d> <u+201c>are we supposed to be proud of that or are we supposed to be unhappy?<u+201d> he said. mrs. clinton got in plenty of digs and self-deprecation, including when she acknowledged she was no saint but quipped, <u+201c>getting through these three debates with donald has to count as a miracle.<u+201d> thursday<u+2019>s dinner was a white-tie fundraiser for catholic charities that has been a must-do stop for presidential candidates. it traditionally has given the nominees a chance to pause late in the campaign season for some genial, self-deprecatory humor. it was hard to see in advance how that would be possible just 24 hours after a presidential debate that saw the two trading insults that dripped with personal disdain. mr. trump called his democratic rival a <u+201c>nasty woman,<u+201d> mrs. clinton said he <u+201c>choked<u+201d> in a meeting with the mexican president, and each called the other a <u+201c>puppet.<u+201d> at the event at the waldorf astoria, mrs. clinton and mr. trump sat separated by cardinal timothy dolan, the roman catholic archbishop of new york. although the two candidates shook hands before the event was over, the tension throughout was so high that cardinal dolan said at the end he had cold symptoms because he had been sitting in the <u+201c>iciest place on the planet.<u+201d> mr. trump, known for his boastfulness, noted that many expected him to have a hard time with the self-deprecating part of the gala<u+2019>s traditions. mrs. clinton nodded. <u+201c>the truth is i<u+2019>m a modest person,<u+201d> he said. but he went on to tell a joke that seemed to compare himself to jesus. he said the catholics in the audience might have a special place in their heart for him because he was <u+201c>a carpenter who worked for his father.<u+201d> he made one joke at his wife<u+2019>s expense, reminding the audience of how parts of melania trump<u+2019>s speech at the republican national convention seemed to plagiarize a speech by first lady michelle obama, who recently gave an especially well-received campaign speech for mrs. clinton. <u+201c>michelle obama gives a speech and everyone loves it, they think she<u+2019>s absolutely great,<u+201d> mr. trump said. <u+201c>my wife melania gives the exact same speech and people get on her case.<u+201d> but the audience gave mrs. trump a warm ovation when she stood at his invitation. mr. trump joked around one of his central lines of campaign attack<u+2014>the suggestion that mrs. clinton committed crimes in her handling of classified emails while secretary of state . when at the dinner she bumped into him and said, <u+201c>pardon me,<u+201d> mr. trump quipped, <u+201c>let me talk to you about that after i get into office.<u+201d> mr. trump<u+2019>s speech was the edgier of the two, and at times seemed to lose any sort of leavening humor. <u+201c>here she is in public pretending not to hate catholics,<u+201d> he said at one point. but when he called her corrupt and used other lines of campaign attack against her, such as harm he says the clinton foundation did in haiti, he went too far for some in the audience who booed him. mrs. clinton, for her part, went with a low blow in alluding to complaints that mr. trump mistreats women who don<u+2019>t meet his standards for beauty. <u+201c>donald looks at the statue of liberty and sees a 4,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet.<u+201d> she derided mr. trump<u+2019>s debate performance and his suggestion that he recently made that she be drug tested. <u+201c>i am so flattered that donald thought i used some kind of performance-enhancing drug,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>well i did. it<u+2019>s called preparation.<u+201d> she made fun of her own reputation for being humorless and boring. <u+201c>it did take a village to write these jokes,<u+201d> she said, tweaking the title of a book she published as first lady. write to janet hook at janet.hook@wsj.com and peter nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com
hillary clinton, donald trump trade barbs at charity event  - wsj
janet hook peter nicholas