CNN’s chief Trump critic Brian Stelter admits Trump was ‘funny’ during Al Smith Dinner: ‘A few good jokes’

CNN senior news analyst and longtime critic of former President Trump, Brian Stelter, agreed that Trump’s speech Thursday night at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner in New York City was “funny” and heartfelt at points.

The CNN analyst, who recently returned to social media after the cancellation of his show in 2022, praised the former president’s humor at the event and his self-deprecating speech about the two assassination attempts.

“I thought he was funny. I thought he got a few good jokes. I thought the best moment was when he was talking about the assassination attempts and ignoring what he’s been through,” he said during a CNN post-celebrity dinner. held to benefit Catholic Charities in New York City.

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During his speech, the former president joked, “Culture says I should tell a few self-deprecating jokes tonight. So here I am. No. I have nothing. I have nothing. I can’t do anything. I don’t think I should take pictures of myself while other people are shooting at me for a long time. “

Stelter continued, praising Trump for being able to make fun of the tragic events he has endured in recent months, including when he was shot in the ear in Butler, Pennsylvania in July, and another assassination attempt on his golf course in West Palm Beach in September. No gun was fired by the would-be attacker in this last incident.

“I think he’s going through real trauma, real PTSD from the shooting,” Stelter said, adding, “But he was able to have a little moment in this room, and he used the fact that Kamala Harris wasn’t there.”

He criticized Trump for mispronouncing Harris’ name during the event, adding, “It’s annoying that he can’t pronounce his name correctly. It’s not hard. And he goes out of his way to insult him I think.” he’s racially offended.” Trump repeatedly referred to Harris as “Kamala” during the event, emphasizing the middle syllable.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump and New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan (L) attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation’s 79th Annual Dinner at Hilton Midtown in New York, October 17, 2024. (Photo by Timothy A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Some CNN pundits didn’t find Trump’s speech as funny as Stelter did. CNN commentator Karen Finney told the “CNN This Morning” panel on Friday, “I don’t know if it was funny.” He also praised Harris for skipping the dinner, saying he appeared to be focused on his campaign rather than being in a room with “old” men and “stiff” “white men”.

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“This is a crowded room full of insiders, the quintessential backroom of old, old, tough New York, mostly White men … and he doesn’t belong there,” the commentator said, adding, “That’s not who he is. It’s not where you come from.”

Harris’ absence from the event marked the first time a major president has canceled the Al Smith dinner in 40 years.

In his stead, the Harris campaign posted a video recording of Harris speaking to dinner attendees that was played just before Trump’s remarks. The video also featured comedian Molly Shannon in a cameo as her “Saturday Night Live” character Mary Katherine Gallagher, an eccentric Catholic student.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, arrives at Trenton-Mercer Airport, Mercer County, New Jersey, Wednesday, October 16, 2024, on her way to a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Social media critics and even speakers at the dinner mocked Harris for his absence, with both comedian Jim Gaffigan and Trump ripping him from the podium.

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Finney continued to defend Harris from this criticism, “You know, she’s somebody — she’d be the first president to work at the local, state and federal level. She’s the people, you know — women and often women of color, we’re not in. those back rooms we’re not in those spaces.”

“So to go out with the people, that was his wise choice for many reasons. He had nothing to gain by going to that dinner. He had a lot to gain from the 100-day campaign especially, being on the road,” concluded the analyst.