Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York expressed disappointment that Vice President Kamala Harris intends to skip the 79th annual white-tie Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner this year.
For the past four decades, nominees from the two major political parties have headlined the lively and often humorous Catholic charity event as an effort to show collegiality between partisan lines.
Former President Donald Trump, 78, confirmed he will attend, but Harris, 59, opted for battleground state campaigning instead.
“We were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome,” Dolan, 74, said during a press conference Monday. “She speaks very much about high ideals and how it’s good to get away from division and come together in unity and all.
“We’re not used to this. We don’t know how to handle it,” he went on. “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.”
Dolan is set to host the iconic New York Catholic Charities fundraiser that will take place on Oct. 17.
Harris felt she needed to “maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election,” according to a campaign official.
It’s not entirely clear which state she intends to campaign in instead of attending the esteemed charity dinner.
The tradition dates back to John F. Kennedy’s and Richard Nixon’s joint appearance at the dinner in 1960. The event helps raise money for Catholic charities, including efforts to support children.
Trump had attended the 2016 alongside his then-rival Hillary Clinton and then partook in the virtual dinner held in 2020 with President Biden, the country’s second Catholic president.
Historically, the dinner is a forum for humorous banter and light-hearted political jabs between the two major political rivals during a feisty election cycle.
Trump wasted little time throwing shade at the vice president over her plans to skip the feted meal.
“It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend. 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,” he chided on Truth Social.
“Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined.”
Dolan indicated that he is still hopeful Harris will reverse course and suggested that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul are “working hard” to “convince her to come.”
“We’re not giving up, we hope she’s here,” he stressed.
Doland has previously been critical of Democrats, having penned a 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed titled, “The Democrats Abandon Catholics.”
One of the top concerns he cited in the piece was the Democrats’ position on abortion. Harris has vowed to restore a national right to abortion access, while Trump has indicated he’d defer to the states, deviating from the GOP’s past platforms that called for national restrictions.
Harris’ decision to forgo the dinner comes against the backdrop of recent polling suggesting that the race between her and Trump is a nail-biter.
Harris leads Trump by 2.1 percentage points nationally — the same margin as Clinton eight years ago, according to the RealClearPolitics polling aggregate.
