Trump Speaks at Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner

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Facts

  • Former US Pres. and 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump spoke at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner — which supports Catholic charities — in New York on Thursday night. Vice Pres. Kamala Harris became the first presidential candidate to miss the event since Walter Mondale in 1984.[1][2]
  • Trump claimed that it was 'weird' that the Democratic nominee was not attending the dinner, and said that he was 'shocked' that Harris did not attend given that presidential candidates were meant to 'exchange good-natured barbs.'[3]
  • Trump joked that Harris was too busy 'hunting with her running mate' and 'receiving communion from Gretchen Whitmer,' and 'guaranteed' that the vice president would've attended if she was told the charity funds 'were going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis.'[4][5]
  • Trump claimed that Pres. Biden had 'almost disappeared from view,' saying that the 'only way' he could be seen less was 'if he had a show on CNN.'[6][7]
  • Despite not attending the dinner, a pre-recorded video by Harris containing Saturday Night Live's (SNL) Molly Shannon was played. Harris joked that critiquing Catholics at the event 'would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit' — a reference to a speech by Trump — while calling to 'set aside partisanship' to support charities.[4][8][9]
  • According to a September Pew Research Center poll, Trump (52%) holds a five-point lead over Kamala Harris (47%) with registered Catholic voters. Pew also found that 20% of US adults in 2023 described themselves as Catholics — approximately 52M people.[10][11]

Sources: [1]New York Post, [2]ABC News, [3]Youtube, [4]Youtu, [5]Forbes, [6]Daily Wire, [7]Newsweek, [8]Associated Press, [9]Washington Post, [10]Pew Research Center (a) and [11]Pew Research Center (b).

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by thedailybeast.com. Trump's Al Smith speech was not in good taste. What was supposed to be an opportunity for presidential candidates to show a more lighthearted side within the midst of an electoral campaign was, as expected, overshadowed by Trump's jabs and ranting. Thursday night's dinner, unfortunately, allowed the GOP a further opportunity to normalize hate-filled rhetoric under the veil of comedy.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Washington Examiner and New York Post. Harris' Al Smith no-show reinforces the Vice President's image of an anti-religious candidate. Scared of being exposed as an ultra-progressive and avoiding the spotlight, it's no surprise that the Democratic nominee chooses not to attend any event that isn't fully within her team's editorial control. This raises major questions about Harris' leadership — how would she respond to a real crisis with a US adversary?

Predictions