'White Dudes for Harris' responds to Trump's joke about their wives

Leading members of the White Dudes for Harris campaign group have responded to Donald Trump's joke about their wives at the Al Smith dinner.

The former president headlined the annual white tie event that raises money for Catholic causes in New York City on Thursday evening. Trump gave a speech in which he made a series of jokes at the expense of Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic figures.

Among the one-liners Trump delivered was an attack that mocked those behind the “White Dudes for Harris” movement.

“There's a group called 'White Dudes for Harris,' but I'm not worried about them at all because their wives and their lovers are all voting for me,” Trump said.

Tim Fullerton, an organizer with White Dudes for Harris, responded with his own attack on the former president.

“I am one of the organizers of White Dudes for Harris. My wife would rather eat glass for a month than vote for this guy,” Fullerton wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Ross Morales Rocketto, lead organizer, added: “Still plenty of time for persuasion talks.”

Newsweek Trump's campaign emailed for comment.

The group “White Dudes for Harris” was influenced by similar volunteer movements such as “Black Men,” “Black Women,” or “White Women for Harris.”

In July, a White Dudes for Harris Zoom call attended by numerous celebrities and Democratic figures raised more than $4 million for the vice president's 2024 campaign.

Harris was not present at Al Smith's dinner Thursday as she was campaigning in the key swing state of Wisconsin. Instead, the vice president appeared via video link in a skit alongside comedian Molly Shannon, who portrayed her Saturday Night Live Character Mary Katherine Gallagher, a Catholic schoolgirl.

Trump repeatedly referenced Harris' absence in his jokes at the event while attacking President Joe Biden's cognitive abilities.

“If the Democrats really wanted someone not to be with us tonight, they would have sent Joe Biden,” Trump said.

In another putdown, Trump said: “The fact is we need new leadership in this country. In the White House right now we have someone who can barely speak, can barely put two coherent sentences together, who appears to have the mental capacity of a child. There is no intelligence at all. But enough about Kamala Harris.

Trump said he may have gone too far when he referenced Harris' husband Doug Emhoff's affair during his previous marriage and unconfirmed reports that the woman had worked as a nanny for Emhoff's children.

“The only advice I would have for (Harris) if she wins is not to let her husband, Doug, near the nannies,” Trump said, prompting groans and gasps from the audience.

“This is a bad thing… I told those idiots who gave me this stuff that this is too harsh,” Trump added.

Trump was also the victim of a few jokes at the dinner.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan mocked the former president for spreading the false claim that migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people's pets, referring to the Access Hollywood Band.

In the audio, unearthed shortly before the 2016 election, Trump can be seen bragging in 2005 that he could grab women “by the ass.”

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