Former President Trump said Friday he was “surprised” that Vice President Kamala Harris skipped the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, calling it a “terrible” decision by the Democratic nominee.
“I thought it was great, you know, it was for the Catholic Church… a lot of good people, a lot of good causes and unusually she didn’t show up. You would have thought she would have showed up last night,” Trump said during an in-studio appearance on “FOX & Friends.”
“We were all surprised,” Trump added.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump raises his fist as he and his wife Melania Trump attend the 79th Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Hilton Midtown in New York, October 17, 2024. (Getty Images)
The Al Smith dinner was launched in 1946 and has raised millions of dollars for charities supporting women and children. It has since grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons, but Harris surprised many by skipping the bipartisan political event that typically adds a bit of levity to the campaign trail each presidential election cycle.
“I think it was terrible that she missed it because… only one person missed it in many years and that’s Walter Mondale and he lost 49-1,” Trump said.
“FOX & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Trump why he believes Harris skipped the event that is historically attended by candidates from both parties.
“I think that she’s not competent. I don’t want to say this kind of stuff, but we can’t live with this,” Trump said.
“I don’t think she’s funny,” he added. “We can’t have her as a president, she’s a Marxist. We’re not ready for a Marxist.”
MONTAGE: TRUMP CRACKS JOKES AT THE AL SMITH DINNER IN NEW YORK CITY
Former President Trump said Friday he was “surprised” that Vice President Kamala Harris skipped the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. (Getty Images)
Trump also mocked Harris’ decision when he spoke at the event.
“I must say I was shocked when I heard that Kamala was skipping the Al Smith dinner. I’d really hoped that you would come, because we can’t get enough of hearing her beautiful laugh. She laughs like crazy,” Trump joked.
“If you really wanted Vice President Harris to accept your invitation, I guess you should have told her the funds were going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis, and she would have been here, guaranteed. She would have been guaranteed,” Trump also quipped, citing Harris’ promotion of a bail fund during the riots of 2020.
The dinner is named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, Al Smith, who served as the 42nd governor of New York. He ran for president as a Democrat in 1928. Harris’ snub of the historic Catholic charity event irked New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the host of the dinner, on his podcast earlier this week.
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“This year will be imbalanced because sadly, Kamala Harris isn’t coming,” Dolan said on his podcast Tuesday. “It’s a shame because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It’s not a campaign speech. It’s not a campaign stop.”
Other attendees of the event include, Attorney General Letitia James – an outspoken critic of Trump who slammed him as a “con man” while campaigning for the AG job in 2018 – former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul and others.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on sending a pre-recorded video message for the event, but did not receive a reply. The campaign previously told Fox News that Harris was skipping the event to focus on campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin on Thursday.
