Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said he was “disappointed” that Sen. Kamala Harris would miss the historic Al Smith dinner, telling reporters that he “doesn't know how to respond” because it marks the first time in 40 years that a presidential candidate has declined the invitation.
“It's unfortunate,” Dolan said Monday at a news conference at the Elizabeth Seton Children's Center in Yonkers. “We were looking forward to giving the vice president a warm welcome and we knew he would love it. You know, the vice president talks a lot about high ideals and how good it is to come together from division. That's what the Al Smith Dinner is about.”
Kamala Harris will miss historic dinner with Al Smith despite long-standing tradition
“We're not used to this. We don't know how to handle it,” he continued. “This hasn't happened in 40 years, since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation. And remember, he lost 49 of the 50 states. I don't want to say there's a direct correlation there… but we're not giving up.”
In 2016, Cardinal Timothy Dolan sat between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation's annual dinner. (Photo: Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
Dolan will host the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner on Oct. 17. The dinner is traditionally held at the New York City Donations will be made to Catholic Charities.
During a presidential election year, Republican and Democratic candidates typically meet for dinner and poke fun at each other in humorous speeches, a tradition that began in 1960 when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon spoke at the event.
The Harris campaign told event organizers that Ms Harris would not attend the event and would instead be campaigning in unspecified battleground states.
“It's a shame Kamala Harris missed the dinner with Al Smith”: Anita Vogel
Former President Trump confirmed in a Truth Social post on Monday that he plans to attend and speak at the dinner, writing that he was “disappointed but not surprised” that Harris chose not to miss the charity event.
last time Democratic candidate As Dolan notes, the last time a president declined to attend an event despite the Republican candidate being in attendance was in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan spoke without Walter Mondale in attendance.
In 2000, then-Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush, Archbishop Edward Egan and then-Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore shared a laugh at the Alfred E. Smith memorial dinner. ((Photo by Harry Hamburg/NY Daily News Archives via Getty Images))
In 2020, then-President Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden They attended a dinner together. Despite the fierce election battle, neither candidate attacked the other.
Dolan said he remains hopeful that Harris will change her mind, and praised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and New York Governor Kathy Hockal for “working hard to persuade her.”
“We haven't given up. We want her to be here,” Dolan said.
Click here to get the FOX News app
The Harris campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News' Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
