Melania and Donald Trump Have Opposite Reactions to Jim Gaffigan’s Bold Dinner Joke About “Access Hollywood” Tape

October 20

During a rare joint appearance at the Al Smith Dinner in New York City on Thursday, Oct. 17, the former first couple was confronted with one particularly awkward moment

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Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend the 79th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Oct. 17, 2024" fifu-data-src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/gUkTAmx7lvCxypB0R_RM3g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/people_218/8e9129c5fb0477db358cc6110e86d6c4">data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==

Anthony Behar/AP

Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend the 79th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Oct. 17, 2024

Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, had very different reactions to a joke about the former president’s infamous Hollywood Access tape.

During the high-profile Al Smith Dinner — an election year tradition in New York City to raise money for Catholic charities and roast political candidates — comedian and dinner host Jim Gaffigan began cracking jokes about Donald, 78, as the former president and Melania, 54, sat just feet away.

Gaffigan jokingly compared Donald’s recent false claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Ohio to his lewd comments in a 2005 recording that surfaced during the 2016 presidential race, according to Newsweek.

“During the first and only debate, President Trump talked about migrants taking cats and eating them,” Gaffigan said. “You know, if you’re keeping track at home, this is the second time grabbing a kitty has been part of a campaign issue.”

Related: Daughter of Haitian Immigrants Says Trump’s ‘Eating the Pets’ Comment Opens Old Wounds: ‘It’s So Ignorant’ (Exclusive)

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty

Comedian Jim Gaffigan speaks at the 79th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Oct. 17, 2024

According to Newsweek, Donald was smiling through the joke, while Melania remained “stone-faced.” Some audience members laughed and groaned, while others stayed silent.

Mary Callahan Erdoes, vice chair of the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation board, was then heard telling Gaffigan, “We talked about leaving that out.”

Gaffigan responded to her affirmatively, saying, “I was gonna leave that out.”

Related: Trump ‘Seemed Frightened’ to See Melania After Access Hollywood Tape, New Book Says

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty

Melania Trump whispers something to husband Donald Trump at the 2024 Al Smith Dinner on Oct. 17

In the 2005 tape that Gaffigan referenced, Donald was heard on a hot microphone speaking with Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush about groping and trying to have sex with women.

At one point, the real estate mogul notoriously said, “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful… I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.”

“Grab them by the p—y,” Donald continued. “You can do anything.”

Related: Melania Trump Reportedly Refused to Appear with Her Husband After His ‘Grab ‘Em by the P—y’ Tape

Additionally, during the recent presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris in September, Donald brought up the far-right conspiracy theory regarding Haitian migrants “eating pets,” which received mass criticism ahead of the debate.

“In Springfield, [Ohio,] they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people who live there, and this is what’s happening in our country,” Donald falsely claimed of Haitian people who have moved there.

Moderator David Muir interjected at the time to note that the city manager of Springfield has publicly stated “there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

Related: Melania Trump Remains ‘Angry’ at Donald over Stormy Daniels Drama, Is Focused on Her Son and Herself: Sources

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GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty

Donald and Melania Trump speak to press after voting in the 2024 Republican presidential primary in Palm Beach, Fla.

This isn’t the first time Melania has had a less-than-enthusiastic reaction to buzz about Donald’s sex-related scandals. A source previously told PEOPLE in March 2023 that the former model was completely uninterested in talking about the alleged hush money payment Donald made to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Daniels previously alleged that her rumored extramarital affair with Donald took place less than four months after Melania gave birth to the couple’s son, Barron, in 2006.

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According to the source, Melania has been “leading her own life, and still feels happy being at Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by people who love her and who never talk about reality, or bad things about her husband.”

“She remains angry and doesn’t want to hear [the alleged hush money payment] mentioned,” the source added. “She is aware of who her husband is and keeps her life upbeat with her own family and a few close friends.”

The source also noted at the time that Melania has been upset by the Daniels accusations since at least 2018, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald had arranged a $130,000 payment to the ex-porn star a month before the 2016 election so she’d keep quiet about their alleged affair.

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