United States Vice President Kamala Harris will be absent from this year’s Al Smith Charity Dinner in New York, breaking the tradition of major presidential candidates attending the event together, opting to campaign in a battleground state instead.
Traditionally, the Al Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, which raises funds for Catholic Charities, is meant to promote camaraderie and good humor among colleagues. It is an occasion where both presidential candidates from the two major parties appear on the same evening, engaging in playful yet respectful banter.
An official from Harris’ campaign team stated on Saturday (September 21) that the team wishes for her to spend more time in crucial battleground states that will determine the election outcome, rather than in the Democratic stronghold of New York. The official, who chose to remain anonymous, mentioned that the campaign team informed organizers that if Harris were to be elected president, she would be willing to attend the organization’s events in her capacity as the president.
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign team has not immediately responded as to whether Trump will attend the dinner. In 2016, Trump and then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton both attended the Al Smith Annual Dinner.
This year’s white-tie dinner is scheduled for October 17.
The formal name of the charity dinner is the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, named after the former Governor of New York. Smith, a Democrat, became the first Roman Catholic nominated as a major party candidate for the U.S. presidency in 1928. However, he lost to Herbert Hoover in the election.
The event typically raises millions of dollars for Catholic charitable organizations, showcasing the ability of those vying for national leadership to coexist harmoniously, or at least pretend to.
Since the joint appearance of Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy in 1960, this event has become a tradition for presidential candidates. In 1996, the Catholic Archdiocese of New York decided not to invite then-President Bill Clinton and his Republican opponent Bob Dole, reportedly due to Clinton’s veto of a late-term abortion ban.
Both Trump and Catholic Joe Biden spoke at the fundraising dinner in 2020. Concerned about the spread of COVID-19 in large gatherings, the event was shifted online. Neither candidate made jokes amid the pandemic and economic turmoil; rather, they used their speeches to appeal to Catholic voters.