The archbishop of New York has warned Kamala Harris of losing the presidential election, after she did not turn up to the Al Smith dinner, which benefits Catholic charities.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan said he was “disappointed” not to host the vice president at the event, which typically sees light-hearted humour between two presidential candidates.
Donald Trump appeared at the event in 2016 and 2020, and Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden both attended during their election campaigns, albeit Biden’s attendance was remote due to Covid.
Cardinal Dolan said: “We were looking forward to giving the vice president an enthusiastic welcome, and we were confident that she would find this – you know, she speaks very much about high ideals and how it's good to get away from division and come together in unity and all.
“We’re not used to this. We don’t know how to handle it,” he said, warning: “This hasn’t happened in 40 years, since Walter Mondale turned down the invitation. And remember, he lost 49 out of 50 states. I don't want to say there's a direct connection there, but … we're not giving up.”
Harris’ absence is due to her team wanting her to focus on the battleground states, rather than New York, which already sees a strong pro-Democrat vote.
Trump confirmed is attendance via his website Truth Social – although his 2016 reception was met with boos from attendees.
On his post, Trump claimed Harris “certainly hasn't been very nice” to Catholics.
Cardinal Dolan himself has spoken against the democrats, writing in the Wall Street Journal that the democrats had “abandoned” Catholics.
A Harris representative told the Mail that the group Catholics for Harris-Walz will be appealing to US Catholics in the coming weeks.