Vice President Kamala Harris has reportedly refused to attend the historic Al Smith charity dinner in New York City before the election in November.
The Catholic fundraiser features the nominees of both of America’s two major political parties who engage in some self-deprecating humor and some light roasting of their opponent.
The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner this year is on October 17 and is already sold out with 1,500 guests expected to attend the ballroom gala in Midtown Manhattan.
Harris’ campaign told CNN that she would rather be on the campaign trail than attend the event, becoming the first presidential candidate to skip it in years. In 2020, both Trump and then-Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden did not attend because of the pandemic, but they both made video statements for the event.
In 2016, Trump took the roasting to a slightly higher level than had been previously featured at the event as he repeatedly went after then-Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for her long history of political corruption.
Kamala Harris refuses to attend the historic Al Smith charity dinner before election, an event that the nominees from both parties always attend.
Candidates lightly roast each other at the event, something that Harris apparently can’t withstand.
Here’s Trump in 2016: pic.twitter.com/8qwPJit6xG
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 21, 2024
Harris instead accepted a debate offer against Trump on CNN in late October, even though she previously rejected additional debate offers from Trump, and Trump subsequently said that there would be no more debates.
“It would be unprecedented in modern history for there to just be one general election debate,” Harris’ campaign said. “Vice President Harris is ready for another opportunity to share a stage with Donald Trump, and she has accepted CNN’s invitation to a debate on October 23.”
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“Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate,” they added.
Trump fired back at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday, saying that it was too late to do another, especially after she rejected additional debate offers from Trump in the past.
“She’s done one debate. I’ve done two. It’s too late to do another. I’d love to, in many ways, but it’s too late. The voting is cast,” Trump said, adding: “She’s had her chance to do it with Fox. You know, Fox invited us on, and I waited and waited, and they turned it down. They turned it down, but now she wants to do a debate right before the election with CNN because she’s losing badly.”
Trump agreed last month to a Fox News debate on September 4, which Harris rejected; and an NBC News debate on September 25, which Harris never accepted; in addition to the September 10 debate that they both agreed to on ABC News.