Melania and Donald Trump Have Opposite Reactions to Jim Gaffigan’s Daring Dinner Party Joke About ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape

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

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

During the Al Smith Dinner — an election-year tradition in New York City to raise money for Catholic charities and criticize political candidates — comedian and dinner host Jim Gaffigan began telling jokes about Donald, 78, as the former president and Melania, 54, sat just a few 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 catching cats and eating them,” Gaffigan said. “You know, if you’ve been following along at home, this is the second time getting a kitten has been part of a campaign issue.”

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

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

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

Gaffigan responded in the affirmative, saying, “I was going to leave that out.”

Related: Trump ‘Seemed Scared’ to See Melania After Accessing Hollywood Tape, New Book Claims

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

At one point, the real estate mogul famously said, “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful people… 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 ass,” Donald continued. “You can do anything.”

Related: Melania Trump Reportedly Refused To Appear With Husband After ‘Grab ‘Em by the P—y’ Tape

Furthermore, during the recent presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris in September, Donald raised the far-right conspiracy theory about Haitian migrants “eating pets,” which received mass criticism before 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 that live there, and that’s what’s happening in our country,” Donald falsely stated about the Haitian people who moved there.

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

Related: Melania Trump Remains ‘Angry’ With Donald Over Stormy Daniels Drama, Is Focused On Her Son & Herself: Sources

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

Daniels previously claimed that her alleged extramarital affair with Donald occurred 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 “led her own life and still feels happy to be in 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 knows 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 about Daniels’ accusations since at least 2018, when the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald had arranged a $130,000 payment to the former porn star a month before the 2016 election so that she would keep quiet about their alleged affair.

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