In an unprecedented move, Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen to sidestep the Al Smith Dinner, a significant event in the election year calendar that has seen attendance from generations of presidential candidates.
This decision makes her the first presidential aspirant to avoid the event since Walter Mondale in 1984, who was unsuccessful in his bid for the presidency.
According to The New York Post, while former President Donald Trump has confirmed his attendance at the 79th iteration of the Archdiocese of New York's dinner on October 17, Harris's team has indicated that she will be campaigning in crucial battleground states during the final run-up to election day. The Al Smith Dinner has been a customary platform for presidential candidates to engage in friendly banter since Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy shared the stage in 1960.
Joseph Zwilling, the spokesperson for the Archdiocese, expressed disappointment at Harris's decision. "We are disappointed that she will not be with us, as this is an evening of unity and putting aside political differences in support of a good cause of helping women and children in need regardless of race, creed, or background," he said. "We hope she reconsiders."
Trump's campaign has since confirmed his presence at the dinner, Zwilling added. Harris's team, however, has indicated her willingness to attend the dinner as President of the United States, if elected.
The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, first held in 1946, is a significant charity event that raises millions of dollars annually to support those in need in New York City. During election years, it is customary for presidential candidates to exchange light-hearted barbs in the spirit of charity.
Harris's decision marks the first decline of an invitation since Walter Mondale, Jimmy Carters Vice President, in 1984, when he ran an unsuccessful campaign against President Ronald Reagan. In 1996, the Archdiocese of New York chose not to invite then-President Bill Clinton and his Republican challenger, Bob Dole, reportedly due to Clinton's veto of a late-term abortion ban.
Trump's 2016 appearance at the dinner was notable when he was booed for crossing a line by calling his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton corrupt and accusing her of hating Catholics. Both Trump and President Biden delivered pre-recorded video remarks at the first-ever virtual Al Smith Dinner in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump criticized Democrats as being anti-Catholic and emphasized his stance on the key Catholic issue of abortion, branding himself a defender of the sacred right to life.
Biden, a practicing Catholic, adopted a lighter tone, discussing how his faith helped me through the darkness at various stages of his life. The dinner is named after the former governor of New York, who was the first Roman Catholic ever nominated to run for president by a major party in 1928. This year's event will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown.
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