Current:Home > MyTrump will attend Al Smith charity dinner that Harris is skipping to campaign in battleground state-LoTradeCoin
Trump will attend Al Smith charity dinner that Harris is skipping to campaign in battleground state
View Date:2024-12-23 23:37:49
Donald Trump confirmed Monday that he would be the sole featured speaker at this year’s Al Smith charity dinner in New York, typically a good-humored and bipartisan political event that Vice President Kamala Harris said she is skipping in favor of battleground state campaigning.
The former president and current Republican presidential nominee confirmed in a Truth Social post on Monday that he would speak at the Oct. 17 dinner, calling it “sad, but not surprising” that Harris had opted not to attend.
The gala benefiting Catholic Charities traditionally has been used to promote collegiality, with presidential candidates from both parties appearing on the same night and trading barbs. But on Saturday, Harris’ campaign said the Democratic nominee would not go to the event, breaking with presidential tradition so she could campaign instead in a battleground state less than three weeks before Election Day.
Harris’ team wants her to spend as much time as possible in the battleground states that will decide the election rather than in heavily Democratic New York, a campaign official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss campaign plans and confirming a decision first reported by CNN. Her team told organizers that she would be willing to attend as president if she’s elected, the official said.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who plays a prominent role in the dinner, has been highly critical of Democrats, writing a 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed that carried the headline, “The Democrats Abandon Catholics.” In his Truth Social post, Trump said Harris “certainly hasn’t been very nice” to Catholics, saying that Catholic voters who support her “should have their head examined.”
A Harris campaign official said Catholics for Harris-Walz is working to register people to vote and get involved in outreach across the country. Trump’s post stems in part from 2018 questions that then-Sen. Harris posed to a federal judicial nominee about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a lay Catholic fraternal organization. Harris asked the nominee if he agreed with the anti-abortion views of the group’s leader, views that broadly align with the church’s stance.
The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is named for the former New York governor, a Democrat and the first Roman Catholic to be nominated for president by a major party. He was handily defeated by Herbert Hoover in 1928. The dinner raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities and has traditionally shown that those vying to lead the nation can get along, or pretend to, for one night.
It’s become a tradition for presidential candidates ever since Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy appeared together in 1960. In 1996, the Archdiocese of New York decided not to invite then-President Bill Clinton and his Republican challenger, Bob Dole, reportedly because Clinton vetoed a late-term abortion ban.
Trump and Joe Biden, who is Catholic, both spoke at the fundraiser in 2020 when it was moved online because of COVID-19. Amid the pandemic and economic woes, there was no joking, and both candidates instead used their speeches to appeal to Catholic voters.
Both Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton attended in 2016. Trump was booed after calling Clinton corrupt and claiming she hated Catholics.
___
Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP
veryGood! (634)
Related
- A pair of Trump officials have defended family separation and ramped-up deportations
- Why climate change may be driving more infectious diseases
- These Under $50 Jumpsuits Look Much More Expensive Than They Actually Are
- With time ticking for climate action, Supreme Court limits ways to curb emissions
- Brittany Cartwright Defends Hooking Up With Jax Taylor's Friend Amid Their Divorce
- Keanu Reeves Shares Sweet Kiss With Girlfriend Alexandra Grant on MOCA Gala Red Carpet
- What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn't do about rising prices
- Flood-damaged Death Valley will reopen popular sites to the public
- Women suing over Idaho’s abortion ban describe dangerous pregnancies, becoming ‘medical refugees’
- These Survivor 44 Contestants Are Dating After Meeting on the Island
Ranking
- Voyager 2 is the only craft to visit Uranus. Its findings may have misled us for 40 years.
- You’ll Love the Way Pregnant Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Shop in Style at L.A. Kids Store
- Keanu Reeves Shares Sweet Kiss With Girlfriend Alexandra Grant on MOCA Gala Red Carpet
- Kylie Jenner Rocks Chic Style at Coachella: Look Back at the Kardashian-Jenners' Best Festival Looks
- Deion Sanders addresses trash thrown at team during Colorado's big win at Texas Tech
- The U.S. in July set a new record for overnight warmth
- Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson Might Be Related, but All of These Celebs Actually Are
- Drake Bell Breaks Silence on Mystery Disappearance
Recommendation
-
The boy was found in a ditch in Wisconsin in 1959. He was identified 65 years later.
-
A New Mexico firewatcher describes watching his world burn
-
How people, pets and infrastructure can respond to extreme heat
-
A Northern California wildfire has injured several people and destroyed homes
-
Elton John Details Strict Diet in His 70s
-
Inflation and climate change tackled in new Senate deal that Biden calls 'historic'
-
The U.S. in July set a new record for overnight warmth
-
Kendall Jenner Supports Bad Bunny at Coachella Amid Romance Rumors