Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump ripped each other with scorching zingers Thursday night, but privately, they apparently took a softer approach.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan said Trump actually heaped praise on Clinton just before they took their seats at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York.

“There were some very touching moments. When we were going in, I said, ‘Can we pray together?’” Dolan recalled on Friday during an appearance on “Today.”

He continued: “After the little prayer, Mr. Trump turned to Secretary Clinton and said, ‘You know, you are one tough and talented woman.’ And he said, ‘This has been a good experience, this whole campaign, as tough as it’s been.’”

Clinton reportedly then extended an olive branch to Trump.

“She said to him: ‘And Donald, whatever happens, we need to work together afterwards.’ Now I thought, ‘This is the evening at its best,’” Dolan said.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan. (Screenshot: “Today”)

The Al Smith dinner is a presidential-race tradition in which the Republican and Democratic candidates roast one another, often with a generous helping of self-deprecating jokes and zingers directed to the elites attending the white-tie gala.

Breaking with that tradition, at Thursday night’s event, Clinton and Trump exchanged a series of caustic one-liners.

Among other things, Clinton suggested that the Kremlin had drafted Trump’s speech, and she mocked him for his lack of debate preparations. She also suggested he wasn’t actually a billionaire. Meanwhile, Trump was booed after he said that Clinton was corrupt, but earned applause while joking that the former secretary of state bumped into him and said, “Pardon me.” (He has previously said Clinton should be in jail.)

Dolan conceded on Friday that there were “some awkward moments.”

“You can tell the two of them are kind of awkward together,” he added, noting that it’s “not new” for there to be at least some tension in the room at the annual charity dinner.

When Barack Obama and Mitt Romney appeared at the same event four years ago, Dolan said, “You could tell there was a little iciness. But the purpose of the evening is to break some of that ice.”

Watch Dolan on “Today.”

