Former President Trump on Thursday criticized Vice President Harris at the Al Smith Charity Dinner in New York City, ridiculed her absence from the evening's events, belittled her intelligence and said some attacked supporters of
Mr. Trump spoke for about 30 minutes at the event, which was also attended by Congressional leaders, New York Gov. Cathy Hochul (D), and New York Mayor Eric Adams (D). But Mr. Trump repeatedly contradicted Ms. Harris, who missed the dinner to campaign in the battleground state of Wisconsin.
“My opponent feels he doesn't need to be here, which is very disrespectful to this event and especially to our great Catholic community. Very disrespectful,” Trump said. said and received applause.
“If you really wanted Vice President Harris to accept your invitation, I think you should have told her the money was going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis. Then she would have come here. ” he later added. her support for protesters People arrested during protests over the killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Trump, as he often does at campaign rallies, chided Harris for her laugh and criticized her intelligence.
“The fact is, this country needs new leadership,” Trump said. “Right now, we have a person in the White House who appears to have the mental capacity of a child, who can barely speak, who can barely put together two coherent sentences. No intelligence or anything. But enough about Kamala Harris.”
At one point, President Trump dismissed “White Men for Harris,” a grassroots effort to rally support for the vice president among white men.
“There's a group called White Dudes for Harris. But I'm not worried about them,” President Trump said. “Their wives and their wives' lovers are all voting for me.”
President Trump appeared to receive mixed reactions from the audience, which included both Democrats and Republicans. The former president said some jokes didn't go over well, including one in which he made light of Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff's past relationship with his nanny and one in which he referred to former President Barack Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama.” admitted that.
Harris did not attend the dinner in person as she was campaigning in Wisconsin. Instead, she talked about the incidentvia videoThe show stars comedian Molly Shannon as Mary Katherine Gallagher, a Catholic high school girl from “Saturday Night Live.”
In a video, the vice president criticized President Trump's election denialism and attack on the city of Detroit during a speech in Detroit.
Harris was not the only prominent figure Trump criticized during his remarks.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York sat right next to the podium during Trump's speech, but the senator tried to maintain a stern look throughout, only occasionally smiling. Trump recalled cutting off Schumer's check during his early presidential campaign.
“But look on the bright side,” Trump told Schumer at one point. “Given how woke your party has become, even if Kamala loses, you still have a chance to become the first female president.”
President Trump expressed sympathy for New York Mayor Adams, who was recently indicted on federal corruption charges.
“Good luck with everything. They went after you. They went after you, Mayor. Nine and a half months ago, I said he just said something bad about the administration. '' Trump said. “He's going to be indicted any minute now. I think you're going to win. I know you're going to win.”
The former president was less sympathetic to former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was also present, as was former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“We have another former New York mayor, frankly, without a doubt, the worst in our history. And I can tell you, it's not Michael,” President Trump said. “Honestly, I'm surprised Bill de Blasio is out tonight. He's been a terrible mayor. I can't say if this is a comedy or not. He's been a terrible mayor. He's done a terrible job. By the way, that's not a comedy. That's a fact.”
Thursday night's event is the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation's 79th annual banquet, hosted by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Presidential candidates typically speak and share witty jokes at the dinner every four years, but Trump upended the dinner in 2016 by attacking Hillary Clinton. President Trump and President Biden met virtually in 2020 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
