Cardinal Dolan is 'upset' that Harris was absent from Al Smith's dinner
Cardinal Timothy Dolan said on an Oct. 15 podcast that it was “unfortunate” that Vice President Kamala Harris would be absent from the Al Smith Dinner, a fundraising event traditionally attended by presidential candidates. he said. (Conversation Podcast with Cardinal Dolan)
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, said he was “upset” that Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Harris would be absent from Thursday's Al Smith Charity Dinner.
“Sadly, it's going to be unbalanced this year because Kamala Harris isn't coming,” Dolan said on Tuesday's podcast episode. “This is unfortunate because the essence of the night is to bring people together. The essence of the night is civility, patriotism and humor. This is not a campaign speech. This is not a campaign stop.”
President Trump is scheduled to attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Banquet on Thursday, while Harris is campaigning in Wisconsin as Democratic presidential candidates shift their focus to “blue wall” states, while Hillary Clinton I ignored it in the last weeks of 2016 when it all went awry. campaign.
Kamala Harris plans to skip historic Al Smith dinner despite longstanding tradition
Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks during the Intercessory Prayer for Ukraine at the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Volodymyr in 2022. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Dolan argued that given the potential to raise $9 million for charity, the dinner was “worth continuing and worth doing.”
“We are angry that she did not come, because even she so eloquently said, “I have to turn the page of bitterness,'' and yet I was given a night to access what I so desperately needed. Because I missed out,” Dolan said of Harris. Podcast. “And Al Smith traditionally tries to do that.”
The archbishop said of the dinner: “This is not a burning. There is teasing, great teasing.” “We had a lot of laughs. But, but, it's — it's a big night. … A lot of people think this is a Catholic campaign stop, but it's not. It's not. This night is New York. I think it's a reflection of the demographics.”
“It's not a Republican crowd. It's not a Democratic crowd,” he said. “It's kind of evenly divided.”
Vice President Harris arrives at Trenton Mercer Airport in Mercer County, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, on her way to a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
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Dolan said Harris could appear virtually.
Harris' campaign told Fox News, “The vice president will be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to make the most of his time in a battleground state with the election close.” explained. “Her team also informed organizers that she would like to attend the event as president, which would make her one of the first sitting presidents to attend.”
Donald Trump speaks at Univision City Hall on October 16, 2024 in Doral, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The charity dinner has been held annually since 1946 and has raised millions of dollars for New York's women and children, according to the foundation's website, and “since 1960, it has been held every year for most major political parties during elections. Prominent cultural figures, business figures, and politicians, including presidential candidates, have participated.'' ”
President Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) PAC noted in an email Thursday that Harris would be the first presidential candidate to skip the annual Al Smith benefit dinner since 1984.
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“Her radical policies are fundamentally inconsistent with Catholic teachings, and her history of anti-Catholic rhetoric further alienates this important voting bloc,” the pro-Trump PAC wrote.
