Clinton and Trump were actually sort of nice to each other at the Al Smith dinner

If you look at the picture above, you'll notice Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump doing something they haven't done at the last two debates.

They shook hands at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York on Thursday, the first public embrace since the debate in September.

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It says a lot about this election that so much attention is paid to whether the two presidential nominees shake hands when they meet. But that's where we are in an election in which Trump has constantly called Clinton a "criminal" and Clinton (as well as others) has dubbed him the most dangerous candidate ever to run for the White House.

The Al Smith dinner is meant to break those kind of tensions, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who sat between the two candidates, told Today.

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Credit: AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

He even said they had a few kind words for each other.

"'You are one tough and talented woman,'" Trump told Clinton, according to Dolan. "'This has been a good experience, this whole campaign, as tough as it's been.'"

Clinton then told Trump that "whatever happens, we need to work together afterward," according to Dolan.

They traded jabs from behind the podium at the dinner just as they did at the most recent debate. But this time, for a hot second, 2016 almost seemed like a normal election.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.