Kamala Harris recruits Molly Shannon for video, Trump insults Tim Walz

Vice President Kamala Harris was unable to attend Al Smith’s benefit dinner in New York on Thursday evening and instead sent a video while Donald Trump was there in person. The fundraising dinner named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, hosted this year by Jim Gaffigan, is a longstanding stop on the campaign trail at which candidates typically roast each other.

Harris, campaigning in Wisconsin, released a video in which Molly Shannon appears as her “Saturday Night Live” character Mary Katherine Gallagher, a Catholic schoolgirl wearing a plaid skirt and uniform blouse.

Trump said he hoped Gaffigan’s appearance as vice presidential candidate Tim Walz would be short-lived. “I want to thank our moderator Jim Gaffigan tonight,” Trump said. “Jim most recently played Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live. This will be a very short gig, Jim, but it was fun while it lasted! … Unfortunately, Governor Walz himself is not here. But don’t worry, he’ll say it was him.”

Meanwhile, Gaffigan himself came under fire when he mentioned Trump’s comments about immigrants, saying, “This is the second time that cat-snatching has been part of a campaign theme.”

“The Al Smith dinner offers a rare opportunity to put partisanship aside,” Harris says in the video as the flighty Catholic schoolgirl character begins running back and forth behind her.

“It’s an important tradition that I’m proud to be a part of,” Harris continues, asking Shannon to advise her on what to say for her recorded speech.

“We need a woman to represent us,” says Shannon, explaining that her speech is from “House of the Dragon”: “With this woman we can fly!”

“Is there something you think I should address?” Harris asks. “Well, don’t lie,” Shannon replies. “You shall not bear false witness to your neighbor.”

“Just so you know, there will be a fact checker tonight,” explains Shannon. “WHO?” Harris asks, “Jesus,” Shannon replies.

“And don’t insult Catholics,” advises Shannon.

“I would never do that no matter where I were,” Harris replies. “That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit” – an obvious dig at one of Trump’s recent speeches.

When Harris advises Shannon to “don’t let anyone tell you who you are, tell them who you are,” Shannon quotes Taylor Swift as saying, “Haters will hate hate, shake it off.”

Check out Harris and Shannon below: