As Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate how many presidential debates they will hold before Election Day, they may soon meet in person in a more unusual location.
Al Smith Dinner in New York City.
The event, now in its 79th year, will open with opening remarks from Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York.
A range of dignitaries from finance, politics and government will be in attendance to raise funds for Catholic Charities.
The dress code is formal but usually not too strict.
Jokes are a staple, especially during election years, when candidates are invited to take center stage, make jokes about each other, and then leave as rivals.
That all changed in 2016 when Donald Trump burst onto the political scene with a sharp elbow.
That's why the expectation among attendees I spoke to is that Trump will attend, but that the press-shy Harris will find some excuse not to attend, such as having a cold or needing to make a campaign stop somewhere in the Democratic-backed US.
They believe she would do anything to escape the trauma of going head-to-head with a hard-hitting challenger.
If Harris runs away, it wouldn't be the first time she has tried to avoid confrontation.
The softball interview with CNN was her first (and likely only) formal Q&A since becoming the Democratic nominee after Sleepy Joe Biden withdrew more than a month ago.
She has tentatively agreed to one formal debate with Trump.
The Al Smith dinner will have no formal function, but given Harris's penchant for bizarre and outlandish comments and her obnoxious laughter, it could be dangerous for her, potentially helping Trump upend a close presidential race.
Remember, with Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton sitting just a few feet away, Trump took to the podium to deliver an impassioned speech about Clinton's email server controversy, in his words, “I wasn't sure if Hillary would be here tonight. Maybe you didn't email her an invitation. Or maybe you did, but she found out about it thanks to WikiLeaks.”
it hurts!
News of “Vlad”
Hillary hit back, criticizing Trump for his occasional kowtowing to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.
She said Trump delivered his speech at the dinner “translated from the original Russian,” adding that “Donald is in perfect health, like a horse. You know, the horse that Vladimir Putin rides.”
Yes, there were a lot of laughs, but I heard from people who were there that there was a lot of tension too.
The question is, will we see a similar development between Harris and Trump this year?
To get answers, I called Joseph Zwilling, a longtime spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York.
He told me that both candidates have been invited to this year's dinner on October 17, but that they won't be able to confirm their attendance until at least after Labor Day.
“We look forward to welcoming them,” he said.
“Right now, it's too early to say.”
The conference is hosted by the Archdiocese of New York and is officially known as the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Banquet, named for the great New York governor of the 1920s.
For those who don't know, Smith is a traditional Democrat who grew up in poverty on the Lower East Side, fought for labor reform and became the first Catholic to be nominated for president.
In 2020, the event was held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which likely prevented Donald from criticizing Joe Biden that year.
What I expected, and other guests I spoke to expected, is that Trump will want to meet with Harris one-on-one to give her the same treatment he gave to Hillary Clinton, and that Harris will figure out a way to circumvent that scrutiny, as she did throughout the campaign.
Is the City asleep?
A Google search of “Citigroup and money laundering” brings up some interesting results, including a recent headline about Citi being known as “money launderers’ favorite bank.”
The company paid a $400 million fine to the federal government in 2020 for poor management practices.
Common sense would suggest that cutting anti-money laundering staff in the United States is probably not a wise move.
Yet, that is exactly what City did.
The Post learned of the incident earlier this week.
Citi has cut 65 jobs in its anti-money laundering operations in the U.S. Given that Citi is one of the world's largest banks, employing some 230,000 people, the cuts seem like a paltry sum.
But — and this is a big but — Citigroup probably needs all of those people, given past problems with operations designed to prevent bad actors from using the bank to launder cash.
Yes, the bank has always been one of the laggards in the banking industry, so it is restructuring to cut costs and boost its share price.
All is well until you cut too much fat and it affects your muscles.
In addition to layoffs, anti-money laundering jobs are moving overseas to cheaper locations like Costa Rica, which last I checked isn't necessarily the best haven for such professionals.
A Citi spokesperson said: “We have increased our headcount to address these needs and continue to invest significantly. … The assertion that minimal headcount adjustments in certain regions – which account for less than 1% of our team supporting know-your-customer and anti-money laundering – will impact that effort is completely false.”
