New York: US presidential campaign tensions seeped into a high-profile charity dinner on Thursday as Donald Trump joked about sending Hillary Clinton to prison and she alluded to Trump's statements about women by estimating how he might rate the Statue of Liberty's attractiveness a four, maybe a five.
The candidates shared the stage at a formal dinner in New York City named for the state's former governor, Alfred E. Smith, less than 24 hours after finishing their third and final presidential debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
The annual event, which raises money for needy children, typically offers presidential hopefuls a respite from the tension of the campaign trail. But Trump and Clinton opted to instead trade sharpened barbs that reflected the acrimony of the 2016 White House campaign.
Trump spoke first and set the room on edge with bitter jabs at his rival, with his label of Clinton as "corrupt" drawing boos.
The president elected on Nov. 8 will be the 45th in U.S. history.
Here are a few of the most memorable lines from the Al Smith Dinner:
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. Come to think of it, you know what would be a good number for a woman? 45
~ Hillary Clinton said of the New York City landmark
I have no doubt that Hillary is going to laugh quite a bit tonight. Sometimes even at an appropriate moment.
~ Donald Trump
Clinton: "Donald wanted me drug tested before last night's debate. I am so flattered that Donald thought I used some sort of performance enhancer. Now actually I did, it's called preparation."
Trump: "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.' Just kidding, just kidding."
Clinton: "Regardless of the outcome, this race will be historic. We'll either have the first female president or the first president who started a Twitter war with Cher."
Trump: "Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it. They think she's absolutely great. My wife Melania gives the exact same speech and people get all on her case, and I don't get it. I don't know why. I'm gonna be in trouble when I go home tonight, she didn't know about that."
Clinton: "Donald is very worried about my health. He sent a car for me tonight. Actually, it was a hearse."
Trump and Clinton sat just a seat apart on the dais, separated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.
At the event's conclusion, they shook hands — a gesture they avoided at Wednesday's debate.
But the tone of both candidates' remarks was a departure from the past, when political figures and presidential candidates have stuck to a largely self-deprecating and good-natured brand of humor.
At one point at the event, which raised $6 million for Catholic charities supporting children, Trump said Clinton was "pretending not to hate Catholics."
Trump was referring to the apparently hacked personal emails of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, published by Wikileaks, which show Clinton staffers criticizing high-profile figures for embracing Catholicism as the most "politically acceptable" of socially conservative religions.
Alfred Smith IV, the evening's host, perhaps best reflected the tension in the room, and the campaign, in his introductory remarks: "This has been a campaign for the history books," he said. "It has also been a campaign for the psychiatry books."
