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Party Coverage: Scene City

By JACOB BERNSTEIN

God’s Love We Deliver held its fall gala on Monday night at Spring Studios, but the elephant in the room was the divisive presidential election.

Anna Wintour, the night’s chairwoman, was among the early arrivals. She posed on the red carpet in her Chanel sunglasses before darting off to a Hillary Clinton fund-raiser organized by the movie producer Harvey Weinstein and the theater magnate Jordan Roth.

She was followed by the evening’s M.C., Neil Patrick Harris, who wore a corduroy Marc Jacobs suit and was planning anti-Trump remarks.

Then came Blaine Trump, a vice chairwoman of God’s Love We Deliver, who was previously married to Robert Trump, Donald’s brother. She attempted, like Switzerland, to remain neutral this election.

But that turns out not to be so easy, even when she was surrounded by friends like the magazine editor Amy Astley, who noted that “most New Yorkers who know about Blaine Trump think God’s Love We Deliver. They don’t think Donald Trump.”

After all, when your last name is Trump and you show up to a room full of New York liberals, people are bound to ask about the election. “I’m speechless,” Ms. Trump said, smiling her Julie Andrews-like smile, as guests like Iman and Kate Hudson made their way to the center table. “Do you know where you’re sitting?”

Moments later, Mr. Harris ascended to the lectern and began pillorying Ms. Trump’s former brother-in-law. “You could have just stayed at home and watched the latest news cycle about Donald Trump,” he said. “But I’ll stay positive. The best thing about Donald Trump is — Alec Baldwin.”

The election eventually took a temporary back seat to the matter at hand, which was a steak dinner and an auction led by Jamie Niven, formerly of Sotheby’s, to raise money for God’s Love, which provides meals to vulnerable New Yorkers living with H.I.V. and other illnesses.

A meal cooked by Mr. Harris and his husband, the chef David Burtka, went for $60,000, while a trip to San Francisco for a meal cooked by Alice Waters went for $50,000. Chrissy Teigen turned heads when she raised her hand and pledged $100,000. A few minutes later, Aerin Lauder, sitting nearby, pledged $25,000.

The night also honored the model Karlie Kloss (who was in Japan and happens to be dating Joshua Kushner, the brother-in-law of Ivanka Trump), the restaurateur Danny Meyer and Wing Tat Leung, a volunteer who has logged more than 26,000 hours with God’s Love.

As the evening wound down around 10 p.m., and chocolate-covered strawberries were served, Ms. Trump was asked what she thought of Mr. Harris’s speech, which included a suggestion that the Republican candidate change his campaign slogan to “Make America Grope Again.”

“I just sat there in silence,” Ms. Trump said, laughing, before adding that she planned to skip the social circuit for the rest of the month to avoid the nagging political questions. “I think it’s just easier. Stay out of the fire.”