The Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, has issued a warning to Vice President Kamala Harris — pointing out that the last presidential nominee to skip a historic charity dinner lost 49 states in the presidential election.
Harris’ team announced earlier this week that she would not be attending the historic Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on October 17, a Catholic charity dinner that is traditionally attended by the presidential nominees from both of the major political parties — where they typically engage in a light roasting of themselves and their opponents. The last nominee to skip the dinner was Democrat candidate Walter Mondale — who lost the election to former President Ronald Reagan in a staggering 49-state landslide defeat in 1984.
This refusal to attend the charity dinner aligns with Harris’ apparent campaign strategy of avoiding almost every unscripted appearance, as the gaffe-prone Democrat appears to be trying to desperately avoid embarrassing moments that could tank her campaign.
However, Cardinal Dolan believes that avoiding the Al Smith charity dinner may actually have a worse effect on her chances than any awkward moment at the event would.
“We’re disappointed, we were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome,” he said. “And we are confident the vice president would find this — you know, she speaks so much about the high ideals and how it is good to get away from division and come together in unity, and that’s something else this dinner is all about.”
“We haven’t given up yet. We’re not used to this,” Dolan added. “This hasn’t happened in 40 years, since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation. And remember, he lost 49 out of 50 states. I don’t want to say there’s a direct connection there, but we’re not used to this and we’re not giving up.”
“You know who’s been a help to us?” the Cardinal asked before explaining that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) “have both been working hard to convince her to come.”
Dolan stated that Schumer had claimed that the decision to skip the event was made by Harris’ team, not Harris herself, because of a supposed scheduling issue.
Cardinal Dolan on Kamala Harris snubbing the Catholic community by skipping the Al Smith charity dinner: "This hasn’t happened in 40 years since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation. And remember, he lost 49 out of 50 states."pic.twitter.com/XjOubeFwhY
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 24, 2024
The Archbishop of New York is not the only one warning Harris of potential consequences of skipping the charity dinner, as former Clinton strategist and pollster Mark Penn spoke out about the news on Monday evening — declaring that it was a bad look for Harris.
“I think her positioning that Donald Trump is unacceptable and a threat to democracy means it’s very hard for her to go to a forum and just joke with him, because I think that gives him kind of the respect of a colleague running for president that she doesn’t want to give him,” Penn said. “I think it’s a bad thing that she’s not going.”
Trump also spoke out about Harris’ refusal to attend the event soon after his team confirmed his planned attendance.
“It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday night. “I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration.”
“Regardless, I will see everyone on October 17th, and we will have a GREAT night for Catholic Charities. It’s sad that Kamala doesn’t care about these good works, but with her History of anti-Catholic actions, she would have a hard time anyway!” he concluded.
Trump GOES OFF on Kamala for skipping the Al Smith dinner, which has been a tradition in presidential politics for decades.
“Regardless, I will see everyone on October 17th, and we will have a GREAT night for Catholic Charities.” pic.twitter.com/juHswTCDDM
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) September 23, 2024
