Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton roast: It's happening, but what will they say?

The Alfred E Smith dinner has always been a chance for candidates to put politics to one side, but in an election campaign where one candidate has suggested their rival be assasinated, it remains unclear how this will work

(NBC/Screenshot)

It’s the campaign event no-one is talking about, yet may provide one of the strangest, most uncomfortable nights of the 2016 US election. On Thursday night Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will be attending the 71st Alfred E Smith dinner, an annual fundraising event organised by a Catholic charity for poor children. It’s no ordinary meal however – they’re also expected to light-heartedly roast each other.

But how? Their hatred for one another could not be clearer. Trump has called Clinton a “nasty woman” who should be in jail, and even seemed to call for her assasination. Meanwhile, Clinton has called Trump “horrific”, sexist and unfit for office.

The dinner’s organisers have called for civility. “Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will deliver the evening’s keynote speeches in the spirit of collegiality and good-humor that has become a hallmark of the gala,” they have said. “The dinner honors a cause that transcends the polarizing political rhetoric of the day.”

This may have worked in previous election seasons, but how it will pan out this time is anyone’s guess. How can the two candidates take part in a good-natured roast when they’re engaged in the ugliest election campaigns in American history?

In previous years, candidates have used the Alfred E Smith Dinner to made light of their opponent’s gaffes and shortcomings. In 2008, Barack Obama ribbed John McCain by making fun of how many homes he owned. “While the collapse of the housing market has been tough on every single homeowner,” he said, “we have to recognise that this crisis has been eight times harder for John McCain.”

When the US president then faced Mitt Romney in 2012, he continued to lampoon his rival’s wealth. “Earlier today, I went shopping at some stores in Midtown,” he said. “I understand Gov Romney went shopping for some stores in Midtown.”

Presidential candidates have always attacked each other and swung below the belt, yet this year the political climate seems to have swung into a place unprecedented in its toxicity. Among a long list of wild accusations – including that the election will be “rigged” – Trump has called Clinton the “devil”, and brushed off sexually assault claims by accusing her husband Bill of rape.

It’s hard to see how the candidates could ever see eye to eye again, and embrace the ethos of the Alfred E Smith dinner. McCain accused Obama of “palling around with terrorists” during the 2008 campaign, yet both men were able to come together in a show of unity at the event.

“I am especially honoured to be here tonight with my distinguished opponent Senator John McCain,” Obama said at the time. “It is a tribute to American democracy that the two of us could come together and sit down at the same dinner table without preconditions.” (A running theme of McCain’s campaign was that Obama was naively willing to meet Iranian leaders without preconditions.)

There is a chance that Trump and Clinton may grit their teeth and get on with it, delivering genial and tightly scripted speeches. But Trump cannot stay on script, and doesn’t seem to have an even vaguely acceptable sense of humour. He once decided it was funny to mock a disabled reporter.

Clinton on the other hand is in a very tricky position. She is perfect for the format, and would easily be able to deliver a roast during any other election campaign. But when your opponent is so toxic, racist, rude and dangerous, what can you say? We’re about to find out.