Kamala Harris Is The First To NOT ATTEND This Historic Event

Vice President Kamala Harris has reportedly chosen not to attend the historic Al Smith charity dinner in New York City ahead of the November election.

This well-known Catholic fundraiser typically features nominees from both major political parties, who engage in lighthearted banter and self-deprecating humor while gently roasting each other.

This year, Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is scheduled for October 17 and has already sold out, with 1,500 guests expected to attend the gala in Midtown Manhattan.

Harris’ campaign informed CNN that she prefers to remain on the campaign trail, marking the first time in years a presidential candidate has skipped this event. In 2020, both then-President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden did not attend due to the pandemic, though they sent video messages for the occasion.

In 2016, Trump took the humor up a notch, targeting then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton with jabs about her political history.

Instead of attending the dinner, Harris has accepted an invitation to debate Trump on CNN later in October. This decision comes despite her previous rejections of additional debate offers from him, leading Trump to assert 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.”

“Donald Trump should have no problem agreeing to this debate,” they added.

In response, Trump remarked at a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, that it is too late for another debate, especially given Harris’s past refusals.

“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.”

Last month, Trump agreed to participate in a Fox News debate on September 4, which Harris declined, and an NBC News debate on September 25, which she also did not accept. They both agreed to participate in a debate on ABC News on September 10.