Harris to skip Catholic charity dinner, breaking decades-long tradition

Washington, D.C. Press Office, September 23, 2024, 5:15 p.m.

Vice President Kamala Harris is breaking with four decades of political tradition by skipping the Al Smith Dinner, a charity fundraiser hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.

The New York Post reported Saturday that Harris had decided to skip the event, marking the first time a presidential candidate has declined an invitation to the dinner since Democratic candidate Walter Mondale did so in 1984.

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who as archbishop has served as host of the dinner for the past several years and was seated between the two candidates, responded to the decision by telling reporters that the archdiocese was “disappointed.”

According to a recording of the news conference posted online Monday by Dolan’s podcast “The Good Newsroom,” the cardinal said the archdiocese “was looking forward to the opportunity to enthusiastically welcome the vice president.”

“We’re not used to this, we don’t know how to deal with it,” he said, noting that Mondale lost in 49 of 50 states after declining the archdiocese’s invitation.

“I don’t want to say there’s a direct connection between them,” he said with a smile, “but we’re not used to it and we’re not going to give up.”

Joseph Zwilling, communications director for the Archdiocese of New York, confirmed to CNA that Harris’ staff informed the archdiocese on Saturday that the vice president “cannot” attend the dinner. Harris’ staff said she would not attend the dinner so she could instead campaign in key battleground states, according to the New York Post.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential candidate, will attend the $5,000 dinner event on Oct. 17 in New York City, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s 2024 national press secretary, told CNA.

Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday that Harris’ decision to skip the event was consistent with what he called her “history of anti-Catholic activities.”

“It’s sad but not surprising that Kamala decided not to attend,” Trump said. “I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly wasn’t very nice to them.”

Trump said that Catholics are being “literally persecuted” by the Biden-Harris administration and that “any Catholic who votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should get their head examined.”

The Al Smith Dinner, first held in 1946, was named for the first Catholic to run for president and raised millions of dollars for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York.

The event was attended by many of the most prominent political and cultural figures of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon attended the dinner in 1960, it has become a tradition for both presidential candidates to attend and exchange jokes about each other.

This year’s dinner will be hosted by renowned Catholic comedian Jim Gaffigan.

The archdiocese has not given up hope on Harris’ presence, Dolan said. He said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul are “working hard to convince her to come.”

“Senator Schumer told me, ‘I don’t think she’s going to make a decision; I think her planners are saying she can’t,'” Dolan said. “So we’re holding out hope that she’ll be there. It’s a great evening and an evening of fun and camaraderie with an incredibly noble cause.”

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Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, a national Catholic civil rights organization, told CNA that Harris’ decision was “probably a good move” given the format of the event.

“It’s a high-profile event that’s well-covered by the media and is attended by New York celebrities from all walks of life. It’s a fun atmosphere where both candidates have a chance to slam each other. I suspect Vice President Kamala Harris is not used to that kind of environment,” Donohue explained.

“Her extraordinary ability to think quickly on the fly was certainly a factor in her letting it go,” he said. “It would have been a reflection of Trump’s strengths — he’s a New Yorker — and her weaknesses.”