Politics

Kamala Harris plans to skip historic Al Smith dinner despite long-standing tradition: report

Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign reportedly announced Harris will skip the historic Al Smith dinner, eschewing a decades-old campaign tradition.

The decision was first reported by CNN Saturday afternoon, citing Harris campaign officials. The campaign reportedly told event organizers Harris was instead planning to campaign in a battleground state, but the report did not specify which state Harris will be campaigning in.

The annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is traditionally held in New York City to benefit Catholic Charities and is hosted by the archbishop of New York.

Every presidential election year, the Republican and Democratic candidates will typically come together to give humorous speeches at the dinner. The tradition began when John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon spoke at the event in 1960.

There have been exceptions to the tradition. The Al Smith dinner opted not to invite the two major presidential candidates during the 1996, 2000 and 2004 election cycles.

Fox News Digital asked the Trump campaign if the Republican candidate plans on attending the dinner but did not immediately hear back. The last time a Democratic candidate opted out of the event while a Republican nominee attended was in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan gave a speech without Walter Mondale in the audience. 

In 2020, both President Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden appeared at the dinner. Neither candidate took shots at the other despite the intensity of the race.

‘Throughout my life of public service I’ve been guided by the tenets of Catholic social doctrine,’ Biden said in his speech. ‘What you do to the least among us, you do to me.’

‘Catholics have enriched our nation beyond measure,’ Trump said at the dinner. ‘The essence of the Catholic faith, as Jesus Christ said in the gospel, ‘Everyone will know you are my disciples.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most Popular

Your daily news source covering investing ideas, market stocks, business, retirement tips from Wall St. to Silicon Valley.

Disclaimer:

GroovyTrades.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice.
The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2024 GroovyTrades. All Rights Reserved.

To Top