October 18, 2024
New York City – Donald Trump’s jabs at Democrats include Vice President Kamala Harris, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and many of the other Democratic leaders at Thursday night’s Al Smith Dinner. The dinner, an older event that supports Catholic charities, usually also features well-intentioned jabs at political opponents. Yet Harris’s absence was a major source of comic relief and anecdotal criticism throughout the evening.
Trump wasted no time addressing Harris’s decision to skip the event, marking the first time since 1984 that a presidential candidate missed the dinner. He joked that Harris might have attended if the funds raised were for bailing out “looters and rioters in Minneapolis,” adding that her absence was disrespectful to Catholics. Drawing comparisons to Walter Mondale, who also missed the event and went on to lose the election to Ronald Reagan, Trump quipped, “Shows there is a God.”
Harris’ loss also created a clear hole at a session typically filled by both party candidates. Even those present, such as the evening’s moderator, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, were dejected. Dolan had spoken out in the hope that Harris would show up and that the rally’s emphasis on peace and charity reflected Harris’s stated aim of making political divisions more amicable and comprehensible. This is exactly what she’s looking for,” Dolan said The Good Newsroom, stressing that the dinner was not a campaign rally but a session of formal, state-level discourse.
Harris did make an appearance in the form of a pre-recorded video, which tried to laugh but had people around her looking bemused. Her clip was interrupted by Mary Katherine Gallagher of the film “Superstar” (1999). That grotesque reference to the character (Molly Shannon’s character) was uncharacteristic, and didn’t appeal to much of the older demographic that has come to expect more direct and empathetic comedic relief from the dinner speeches.
And Trump got right back to his comedy roasting and now shifted his focus to the New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Since Adams is being prosecuted on federal corruption and bribery charges, Trump told him “good luck” and then mocked it. Trump also jabbed Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, referencing tabloid headlines about Emhoff’s first marriage, and joked that Emhoff “shouldn’t be allowed near nannies”.
Trump blasted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer too, with the teaser that he might still be ‘the first woman president’ if Harris falls.
Jim Gaffigan, a comedian, was in on the night’s parody, making a mockery of President Joe Biden. Gaffigan joked that Biden was unable to attend because “the DNC made sure of that,” which was the party’s excuse for pushing him out of the 2024 presidential election. He even sneered at Harris’s incoherent video appearance (like his children’s piano recitals on FaceTime).
Harris’ absence and the awkwardness of her video pre-recorded put a pall on a party of bipartisanship that should have been a party of celebration. She’s probably never going to another event like this before Election Day, but she sparked mixed opinions for missing out on an opportunity to reach Catholic voters.
The Al Smith Dinner for the light hearted political slurs had delivered this year, though jokes revealed more serious political divisions as the 2024 election looms. Harris’s withdrawal from the occasion might appeal to voters in coming weeks, when candidates seek out demographics in many different parts of the country.
