Trump and Harris trade jabs at Al Smith Dinner, though Harris wasn't there

The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a presidential election tradition dating back to 1960, brought some laughs in New York City on Thursday night, but for the first time in 40 years, only one candidate was on the dais: former President Donald Trump, who used dark rally language in his remarks.

Trump spoke at the New York Archdiocese's annual dinner at the New York Hilton, where he was joined by his wife and former first lady Melania Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris announced last month that she could not attend due to a conflicting campaign event, but appeared at the dinner in a video.

Trump alternated between making jokes about Harris and some of the other attendees and the regular lines that he uses while campaigning, but he did acknowledge the event's tradition of self-deprecating jokes. The former president quipped about his own legal battles and spent most of his speech attacking Harris.

"I actually thought about not doing jokes tonight," Trump said. "I was going to come out here and say, 'Listen, our country is doing very badly. This is not about jokes.' And then some person said, 'you have to do jokes.' And said, 'I don't want to. There's nothing funny about what's happening to our country.' And I actually meant that. I was going to do that, but they convinced me to say some of the things I said tonight. I don't know if they were funny or not, but, uh, you think this is easy, standing up here, half a room that hates my guts and the other half loves me."

In the state where he became a convicted felon, Trump made multiple quips about his legal battles.

"These days it's really a pleasure anywhere in New York without a subpoena for my appearance. Anytime I don't get a subpoena, I'm very happy," he said.

Later, Trump used profanities while standing next to the cardinal and told the crowd about how much he thought former mayor Bill de Blasio was a "terrible" mayor. Also, there were some audible gasps that could be heard after Trump suggested that soon he would "dispose" of Harris.

Harris, who campaigned in Wisconsin on Thursday, appeared in her video with Molly Shannon playing her "Saturday Night Live" character Mary Katherine Gallagher -- an awkward Catholic school girl who dreams of being a superstar.

Harris' campaign told ABC News on Sept. 23 that she couldn't attend the event because she "is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election."

In the video, Harris asked Shannon, playing Mary Katherine Gallagher, for advice on how to address the Catholic gathering.

"Is there anything that you think that maybe I shouldn't bring up tonight?" Harris asked.

"Um, well, don't lie. Thou shalt not bear false witness to thy neighbor," Shannon as Gallagher replied.

"Indeed, especially thy neighbor's election results," Harris said.

In the video, Harris also took jabs at Trump, mocking him for criticizing Detroit while he spoke at an event in Detroit.

After Harris' video played, Trump chastised Harris for not showing up and filming the video message -- something he had posted on his social media platform before the event, too.

"It's been a long tradition for both Democrat and Republican candidates for president of the United States to attend this dinner. Always. It's a rule. Otherwise, bad things are going to happen to you from up there," he said. "You can't do what I just saw on that screen. But, my opponent feels like she does not have to be here, which is deeply disrespectful to the event and in particular, to our great Catholic community. Very disrespectful."

Later, mentioning the charity behind the dinner, Trump took another shot at Harris, saying, "I guess you should have told her the funds were going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis, and she would have been here, guaranteed."

Since 1960, the black-tie event has hosted both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and allowed them to "share self-deprecating humor" and raise money for the archdiocese's charitable organizations.

It is named in honor of Alfred E. Smith, the former New York governor who was the first Catholic to be nominated to a major party's presidential ticket.

The last time a presidential candidate could not attend the dinner was in 1984 when Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale bowed out.

The event was emceed by comedian Jim Gaffigan, who currently plays Gov. Tim Walz on "Saturday Night Live."

In post on his social media platform last month, Trump accused Harris of being anti-Catholic and repeated past claims, without evidence, that the administration was persecuting Catholics. President Joe Biden is the second Catholic president in American history and attends mass weekly.

In the past, the presidential candidates have roasted each other and appeared to be in good spirits throughout the night. However, things were different in 2016, the last time both of the presidential candidates attended the event in person.

Trump was booed during his 2016 Al Smith dinner speech for repeatedly attacking then-candidate Hillary Clinton.

During Clinton's remarks, the Democratic nominee made some self-deprecating jokes about her stamina and paid speeches, before turning her attention to Trump, where she jabbed him on everything from his temperament to his ties to Russia.

Trump did not laugh or appear to be amused by his opponent's jokes.

ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie contributed to this report.